I Don't Love You Anymore
by redheadedsweetheart
Summary: They got married too young. She left him 8 months into their marriage. It's seven years later and he's moved on with his life. Then she shows up on his doorstep. What does she want? Cody Rhodes/OC
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

They had gotten married at the tender and impressionable age of 18. They had been madly in love, or what they thought was love anyways, and eloped the night she turned 18. To say their parents were shocked would be an understatement. Her parents tried to force an annulment, his parents disowned him. They didn't care what their parents thought though, they were in love with each other and they had a secret. A secret that miscarried a month into to their marriage. The loss of their baby, almost killed her emotionally.

They had moved from their hometown of Marietta, Georgia to Atlanta the day after they got married. They had been planning this and saving up for months. All they had to do was wait until she was of age. The day of her 18th birthday, they found the justice of the peace, said "I do", and spent their wedding night in a cheap motel. The couple made urgently whispered promises while they made love to each other that they would be together forever and raise their baby in a house filled with love.

The day after they were married, he drove her home to get her suitcase and told her parents what they did. They were livid. The screaming and yelling that ensued was too much for them to handle. She left her childhood home with her new husband and never looked back. The second their daughter walked out of the house and climbed into the waiting pickup, her mother called his parents. His father had no idea that his son had gotten married the day before. He vowed that he would disown his son for acting so reckless with a girl he hardly knew. Little did his father know, however, that the two had been in love and seeing each other for two years now. Maybe his dad should have paid more attention to the comings and goings of his son instead of being on the road ¾ of the year.

As they got settled into their crappy two bedroom apartment, she tried to make it feel like a home instead of what it really was—a shithole until they could afford something better. A few weeks went by when the unthinkable had happened, She had been having pains in her stomach all morning but didn't think anything of it; just brushed it off as pregnancy pains even though she was only eight weeks along. She started complaining to him late in the afternoon and he suggested that they go see the doctor just to make sure nothing was wrong with the baby; she didn't tell him that she was spotting. She didn't want to worry him if it turned out that nothing was wrong.

He held her hand and tried to make her smile as she lay on the examining table. He stopped smiling when the doctor had to tell them that she lost the baby. She didn't hear the words the doctor was saying to them about why the baby was gone; all she could think about was that their lovechild was gone.

The drive back to the apartment was silent. Neither of them had much to say to each other; both lost in their own thoughts about the child that they weren't having anymore. He helped her up the stairs and unlocked the apartment door. He followed her to the bedroom that was going to be their baby's. As she sat down in the rocking chair that he had bought at a yard sale earlier that week, she broke down. He knelt in front of her, wrapping his strong arms around her sobbing body. "Shh, honey, it's ok, it's ok. We still have each other," he whispered in her ear. He let her cry in his arms for a while before he suggested that she go lay down in the bed with him.

She fell asleep in his arms, drifting off to dreams filled with the baby that would have had. Would the baby have been a boy with dark hair and blue eyes like his father? Or would it have been a girl with light brown hair and dark brown eyes like her mother? She would never know. Sure, they could try for another baby, but it wouldn't have been the same. Sadly, this would be the beginning of the end for this newlywed couple.

As the days and weeks dragged on, she enrolled in classes at a local community college and worked part time as a bartender. He was working in a warehouse, dreaming of quitting his job and heading up to Ohio for wrestling school. She knew about his dream, but dismissed as just that, a dream. Three months into their marriage, things slowly started falling apart for the couple. They fought more and more over petty little things, she accused him of not caring that they had lost their baby, he accused her of sleeping around with the customers she served at work. The only time they made love was out of pure need for sexual release. Her mom was right, they were too young to be married and they weren't going to make it to their first wedding anniversary.

Eight months into their marriage, she made a rash decision and decided to leave him. She couldn't take the constant bickering the loss of emotion she felt for him. She could hardly bring herself to sleep next to him at night anymore. With the help of her best friend, she moved all of her stuff out one day while was at work. She was moving to Minnesota to attend a university there and to live with an aunt. He had no idea that she was so unhappy until he came home from work that night and read her note to him:

_Cody,_

_I'm leaving you. This isn't working anymore. My parents were right—we were too young to get married, I guess I didn't realize it until we lost our baby. We're like strangers now. We fight all the time and I can't take it anymore with you reminding me every damn day that I'm the one thing standing in the way of living your dream. You can go live it now, I won't be standing in your way anymore. I left the money in the checkbook, here's your wedding ring, I don't want it anymore. Sorry this couldn't work out. I guess I just don't love you anymore._

_Jenna_

He reread the 'Dear John' note at least ten times before it finally sank in that she had left him. Maybe he should have been more sensitive to her after she miscarried, maybe he shouldn't have accused her of cheating on him. Maybe he shouldn't have told her that she was standing in the way of his dream of becoming a wrestler like his dad. Maybe if would have said 'I love you' more often rather than 'You're ruining my life' she would still be here. His mind was full of 'maybes'. He had no idea where to find her, where she went, or why she didn't love him anymore.

He went to sleep that night thinking that maybe she would come back, that she had only left temporarily and that she would come back to him soon. She never did come back. The days turned into weeks before he finally realized that when he reached out to pull her closer in the middle of the night, that she meant it, she wasn't coming back. He had lost her forever. His sweet, sweet, Jenna was gone forever. He had messed up real bad this time.

The day after his late night realization, he did the one thing that he didn't think he would ever do. He called his father and asked for help getting into wrestling school in Ohio. He didn't tell him that she had left him, but his father assumed that's what had happened since his son made no mention of his young wife.

As he moved the remaining stuff out of their once shared apartment, he found her wedding band that she had left. He put it in his pocket, wondering if he would ever see her again. She had made no mention of filing for divorce, she just said that she was leaving and that she didn't love him anymore. Sad thing was, though, he still loved her.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

_Present Day_

Not a day went by that Cody didn't think of his missing wife. He tried to find her, but the girlfriend that had helped her move out wasn't saying anything about where she had went. He tried asking nicely, he tried pleading, he tried threatening her; but Michelle wouldn't say anything about the whereabouts of Jenna. He eventually gave up hope that she was ever coming back. He didn't know how else to try and find her, he sure as hell wasn't going to call her parents and ask if she was there; they probably wouldn't have told him anything anyways. He was also pretty sure that they were still pretty peeved that he had run off and married their daughter. Cody hoped that she would eventually find her way back home and into his arms once again.

She, on the other hand, managed to forget all about him. She had completely blocked out the fact that she was still legally a married woman. Jenna made it up to Minnesota and enrolled in the University of Minnesota and majored in Journalism. She aspired to be a writer. Writing gave her a way to escape her past and focus on something other than what a mess she had made of her young life.

It had been four years before she finally got the nerve to call her parents and apologize for her irrational behavior with Cody. She told them almost everything; she couldn't bring herself to tell her mom and dad about the baby they had lost. To this day, no one knew about the baby but her and Cody and she intended on keeping it that way. The relationship with her parents got better, they forgave her, but it still felt like it was strained, so she kept her distance and stayed in Minnesota.

Four years after she left him, Cody decided to try dating again. The problem was that no girl could catch his eye the same way Jenna had. They had been high school sweethearts and then husband and wife; and before they were high school sweethearts, he would tease her and make her cry in junior high just because it gave him a chance to interact with her. It might have been cruel, he thought, thinking about it now, but that's just how junior high boys are. That summer between junior high and high school was when everything changed for the couple. From the 10th grade and on, they were inseparable.

When Cody joined up with Ted DiBiase and Randy Orton in Legacy, there were plenty of opportunities for him to find a woman to have fun with, but he never got serious about any of them; they served a purpose—to keep his bed warm at night until Jenna came back to him. In Cody's mind, she must have still cared for him somewhat, she hadn't sent divorce papers yet. If she ever did send them, though, he was going to refuse to sign them. They belonged together.

It's now eight years later. Cody is a superstar with the WWE and travels 300 days out of the year. He still calls Atlanta his home, even though he's hardly ever there. Jenna is a freelance writer who makes her home in a suburb of Minneapolis. Her work gives her the chance to travel the country. With all of the traveling they both do, it's a wonder they had never ran into each other in a random city.

While Cody might have trouble dating and moving on with his life, Jenna did not. At 25 years old, she had finally found a man who she thought she would be happy with for the rest of her life. His name was Andy and he was in marketing. They had met at a press conference two years ago, and things were starting to get serious. She couldn't bring herself to tell Andy that she was actually still legally married; she knew eventually that she was going to have to file the divorce papers, but kept putting it off.

Jenna had no idea where she was going to find Cody. She had heard that he had finished wrestling school and had signed on with the WWE, but other than that little piece of information, she hadn't thought too much about him. She took a chance and called the old apartment number; no surprise that it was disconnected. She took another chance and called his father. Virgil, better known as Dusty Rhodes, Virgil didn't care too much for her after Cody told him they had gotten married in the middle of the night and that they were leaving Marietta for Atlanta. He was actually rather civil to her and said that he was out on tour right now on the east coast and wasn't expected back home for a few more weeks. "I have some papers for Cody, do you think if I mailed them to you, you could give them to him the next time he's home?" she asked, swallowing her pride and hoping like hell Virgil would do this favor for her and not ask too many questions.

"I suppose I could do that. Where you living at these days, girl? Cody talks about you every now and then, but never says where you are."

"I'm actually living up in Minneapolis now, but please don't tell Cody." She didn't want her husband showing up at her door and ruining everything she had worked so hard to build for herself.

"Well, don't you think that since he's your husband he should know where his wife is?"

"I..I...I actually have to go right now Virgil, I have another call coming in. I'll mail the paperwork today, please make sure he gets it." And then she hung up before her father in law could ask anymore questions.

Cody came home two weeks later and was just getting settled in when his father called. "Cody, you'll never believe who I talked to a few weeks ago."

"Who?" Cody asked, not really caring, his father found amusement in the simplest things sometimes.

"Jenna."

Cody didn't say anything. He was sure he had misheard his father; he didn't just say Jenna.

"Repeat that, dad. Did you just tell me that you spoke to Jenna?" Cody was getting anxious.

"Yeah, Jenna. Your wife."

"Well, what did she want? Where is she? Is she coming back? Did she ask about me? Is she ok?" Cody's questions came shooting out at his father one right after another. He had heard his dad right. He did talk to her.

"Calm down, now son. She didn't say too much. It was a pretty short phone call. Sounded like she was in a hurry."

"Dad, just tell me what she said!" Now he was started to get really anxious. If his dad knew something he didn't, he had better tell him. Now.

"All she asked was if I knew where you were and that she had some paperwork for you."

Cody groaned. Paperwork from her could only mean one thing: divorce papers.

"Son, are you still there?" Virgil asked, afraid his son had gotten too worked up and had hung up on him.

"Yeah, I'm still here. Did she mention what kind of papers they were?"

"No, she didn't. But you and I both know what they probably are. Makes me wonder why she waited eight years to send them to you, though."

"Makes me wonder too, dad. Did she say where she was living now? Or where she's been hiding all these years?"

"I ain't suppose to say."

"Dad, you have to tell me if she told you. It's not fair if you know and you aren't going to tell me."

"Son, you should know by now that life isn't fair."

"Trust me, I know life isn't fair. If life was fair, my wife wouldn't have left me after only being married for eight months, disappear for almost eight years and now she's sending me divorce papers! If life was fair, my father would also tell me where she is if he knows!' Cody was starting to get pissed. He loved his father a lot, but sometimes the man was difficult.

"Cody, calm down. She didn't want me to tell you, but she's in Minneapolis."

"What the hell is she doing way up there? It's cold up there...she hates the cold. Has she been there the whole time?" He couldn't believe that she would pick such a random place to run away to.

"I don't know, she didn't have to much to say to me. I just told her that I would give you the papers when they came to the house."

"I'm not signing them."

"Son, you're really not going to have a choice in the matter. It's been almost eight years, it's time to realize that you and Jenna made a mistake by running off and getting married. You were both too young, and it's time for you both to move on with you lives," Virgil said softly to his son, not wanting to upset him, but at the same time, his boy needed to hear the truth.

"I'm still not signing them. We didn't make a mistake, we were in love."

Virgil sighed, knowing that it was no use in trying to reason with Cody right now. "All right. She just asked me to give them to you when you came home. They're sitting here at the house, so you should probably come over and at least read them before you make up your mind."

"My mind is made up, dad. I'm not signing them until she gives me an explanation, and even after I get that, I'm still not going to sign them."

Cody and his father spoke for a few more minutes before they finally hung up. Cody was on his way to his father's house now. On the drive over, he kept replaying their relationship over and over again. He still couldn't figure out why she left him.

It had been almost three weeks since Jenna sent the divorce papers to Georgia. She still hadn't heard anything from Cody. She was pretty sure he was going to be stubborn and not sign them. He always had a stubborn streak, and it drove her crazy. She was getting ready to call Virgil again to see if Cody had made it home yet, when a UPS letter came to her desk. She signed for it and opened the envelope. She sighed when she read the handwritten note that was attached to the unsigned divorce papers.

_Jenna, I am not signing these. You owe me an explanation before I even think about signing them. My dad had my cell number. Call him._

_Cody_

Damn him. Why did he have to be so difficult? All she wanted to do was move on with her life. She decided that two could play at this game. She sent the unsigned papers back to him with her own note attached.

_Cody,_

_I never asked you for much. Please just sign these papers and send them back to me. Sign them, and you'll get your explanation._

_Jenna_

She sent it UPS and sure enough, two days later they came back to her again. Unsigned, of course with a note attached.

_Jenna,_

_I told you once that I'm not signing these until I get an explanation from you. If you want these signed bad enough, you'll talk to me. I already know you're living in Minneapolis. I'll be there on the 24th for a show. I'll be checking into Hotel Ivy on the 23rd, I expect to see you there._

_Cody_

She was feeling herself get flustered with this whole situation, which was unusual for her. She was normally very level headed and hid her emotions well. But there was just something about him that got her worked up. She really had no choice but to show up at the Ivy on the 23rd and hope like hell that she could bullshit her way threw a believable explanation so he would sign the papers and be done with it.

He didn't hear back from her for a couple days. He was getting ready to head out on the road again, when a UPS letter showed up from her.

_Cody,_

_Fine. I'll meet you at the Ivy when you get into town. A quick chat, you sign the papers, I finish filing them and then we're done._

_Jenna_

She was sadly mistaken, he thought to himself, she wasn't done with him. He wasn't signing those papers and he wasn't losing her again. He didn't know how he was going to convince her that she did in fact still love him, but he would figure it out. And since the 23rd was only a few days away, he better figure it out quickly.


	3. Chapter 3

Author's Note: Here is chapter three. Sadly, I own nothing except the original character, Jenna. Thank you so much for reading and reviewing. Reviews make me do the happy dance. Enjoy :)

**Chapter 3**

She had planned on meeting Cody when he got into town, but something came up with work and she had to take off for LA for a few days. She didn't bother calling him and letting him know. In fact, she hadn't even bothered to call Virgil and get Cody's cell phone number in the first place. The only way the couple were communicating were either threw Virgil or threw UPS. More than anything she had wanted to see him just so he could sign the divorce papers. Somewhere in the back of her mind, there was a nagging voice that said she also wanted to see him and to make sure that she had made the right decision by filing for divorce instead of trying to work it out after all these years. Jenna pushed that nagging thought away and boarded her flight.

Cody checked into his hotel on the 23rd as planned. He left word at the front desk that should someone named Jenna Runnels show up looking for him, she was allowed to have a room key and should come up and see him right away. He was only in town for tonight and tomorrow, then he was headed off again. He hoped like hell that she would come see him. They had a lot to talk about; mainly why he wasn't signing these damn divorce papers. She had sent the papers back to him again with only her signature on them and a note saying that she would talk to him when he got in. He waited all night for her on the 23rd, she never showed, left a message at the front desk or called him. The next day he was busy with media appearances and the show at the Target Center. She never contacted him that day either.

Cody, Randy and Ted were scheduled to leave Minneapolis this afternoon. They were headed to Chicago. Cody called the front desk again to see if there were any messages from her; there weren't. Cody was pacing around the hotel room when Randy finally broke down and asked him what got him so worked up.

"What's going on, Cody? Why are you so antsy. Ever since we got to Minnesota you've been acting weird."

"It's nothing really. A...friend...of mine was supposed to show up here while we were in town and she hasn't. She hasn't left any messages either. I guess I'm a little worried."

Randy looked at his friend; so it was a woman that had him all worked up. "A 'she', huh? Who is it? I thought you weren't into the whole 'dating' thing," Randy smirked at him.

"I'm not...it was just that we need to talk about something important, and she promised to meet me here, but she never showed. Didn't leave a message or call or anything. Guess I'm kinda worried."

"Sorry to hear that, buddy. But we aren't leaving for a few more hours, maybe she'll make her grand appearance before then. She must be something special if you're getting all worked up about it."

Cody smiled to himself, if Randy only knew what this girl was to him. "Yeah, she's pretty special."

Jenna had just landed at MSP and looked at her watch. Damn it, she thought to herself. If she hadn't had to fly out to LA at the last minute, she might have been able to catch Cody and convince him to sign the papers. Maybe he was still in town. She drove threw downtown to the Ivy. As she parked in the parking garage, she was starting to feel a little nervous. What if he was still in town and she actually made it in time to see him? How on earth was she going to explain her actions? 'I guess I'll worry about that if he's actually still here,' she thought to herself.

She was nervous as she walked into the beautiful lobby of the Hotel Ivy. This place was amazing; and expensive. She asked at the front desk if there was a Cody Runnels still registered. There wasn't. "I', sorry, Miss, but you just missed Mr. Runnels by a few minutes. Are you by any chance Jenna?" the desk clerk asked.

"I am."

"Mr. Runnels left this for you," the desk clerk replied, handing Jenna a manilla envelope. She thanked the clerk and went back out to her. As she made her way threw downtown and back onto the freeway, headed home to St. Louis Park, she kept glancing over at the passenger seat at the envelope Cody had left her. 'Maybe he's finally agreeing with me and those are the signed divorce papers?' she thought to herself. Fat chance.

She made it back to her townhouse, locking the car door as she walked to her front door. She unlocked the door and went inside, slipping off her heels and tossing her purse and briefcase onto the counter. She sat down on the couch, took a deep breath and opened the envelope. She took out the divorce papers first; still not signed. Damn him. She looked int the envelope and saw a note from Cody written on the Ivy's stationary.

_Jenna,_

_I waited for you to show up like you said you were going to but you never did. Don't know what happened. I'm taking off for Chicago in a few hours and won't be back to Minneapolis for a few months. We need to talk and I'm not signing these papers until we do—it's not fair to me just to let you give up on us without hearing my side first. Here is my schedule:_

_25th—Chicago_

_27th—St. Louis_

_29th—Knoxville_

_1st—Montgomery_

_4th—Atlanta_

_6th—Tampa_

_Please come see me at one of these cities. My cell is 545-887-9977, call me._

_Cody_

Great. Now she was going to have to chase him across the southern half of the United States just to get him to sign these papers so she can move on with her life? She sighed and pulled up her travel calendar on her laptop. She could make some of these dates and cities work...

Cody was distracted by his own thoughts as him, Ted and Randy drove to Chicago. Why didn't she show up? Was she going to show up at all? He wished he had known where she was living, he would have showed up at her front door. The address on the envelope that he kept receiving from her was for a publication company in downtown Minneapolis. He knew because he had to google it to find out any information he could about what his wife had been up to in the past eight years. Man, could it really have been that long already?

He found out from the company, JLA Publications, that Jenna had graduated at the top of her class at the U of M with a degree in Journalism. She had been with the company for almost three years and her title was listed as 'Senior Field Reporter'. Whatever that meant. The website also had a recent photo of her. She was still beautiful; with dark brown eyes, a full, sexy mouth with a bright smile. Her straight, long light brown hair that he remembered, was now cut to hit just at her shoulders and had subtle blonde highlights. Definitely still a looker.

He groaned softly, thinking about how much he missed her. He hoped she showed up soon.

_Three days later—St. Louis_

Jenna took a deep breath as she maneuvered her rental car threw the St. Louis traffic, trying to find the arena Cody was scheduled to be at. She had made arrangements to be on assignment in Indianapolis at the end of the week, so she thought that she might as well make a stop in St. Louis, get divorced and catch a flight up to Indiana. She glanced down at the clock on the car radio, 7:30. The show didn't officially start until 9:00, so she was definitely going to make it before he went on. She hated to do this before he went on, but it's just how the timing was working out.

Cody was getting warmed up in the Legacy locker room with Ted and Randy before the show. He had left word with the security team that if someone named Jenna Runnels showed up, she was to be immediately escorted to his locker room. He was going to keep making these arrangements with security until her pretty face actually showed up. And if she didn't show up by the time he was ready to head back to Atlanta for a days off, he was going to fly up to Minneapolis and knock on her door and confront her face to face, whether she liked it or not.

Jenna finally found the arena, after getting lost and driving around the block five times. She made her way inside and found a security guard. "Hi, I'm Jenna Runnels. Cody Runnels had left a message with me saying that once I got here, I could talk to security and someone would show me where he was."

The security guard checked his notes and nodded, motioning for her to follow him. 'Well, here's nothing' she thought to herself as the security guard left her in front of Cody's dressing room. She hesitated for a few minutes before she finally forced herself to knock on the door. A few seconds went by before a very tall, tan and muscular man with cold steel blue eyes opened the door. "What?" he growled, staring down at her. Her mouth dropped open and for a split second she forgot how to speak. This man that was glaring down at her was absolutely breathtakingly handsome. Her eyes wandered to his muscular arms, covered in tattoos. Wow. "Um, I'm here to see Cody..." she finally managed to mumble softly.

"Shit, another fan girl. How do you crazy bitches keep getting past security?"

"For your information, I am not some crazy fan girl, not a crazy bitch. Is Cody here? Otherwise, I'm leaving."

From inside the locker room, she heard someone yell, "Randy, who is it?" A few seconds later, Cody came up behind the asshole known as Randy. "Holy, shit. You actually showed up." Jenna shifted her attention from Randy and took Cody in. He still had the same dark hair, bright blue eyes. He was more muscular now and had a great tan. He looked amazing.

She couldn't find any words, so she just bit her lip and nodded. "Cody, who the hell is this?" Randy growled at Cody. Jenna didn't care for the way that every time Randy spoke, it came out sounding like a growl. Not that it was going to matter much to her; after her husband signed the papers, she would never see him or Randy again.

"This is Jenna. My wife," Cody said softly, pushing Randy aside so Jenna could come into the room.


	4. Chapter 4

**Just had to get this out before I took off for the day. Thanks for the reads and reviews-keep them coming!**

**Chapter 4**

"What do you mean, 'your wife'? When did you get married?" Randy asked as he watched Cody lightly place his hand on this woman's back, guiding her inside their locker room. Cody led her over to a chair and motioned for her to have a seat. She sat down, still looking nervous.

Cody couldn't believe that Jenna was actually here. He turned to Randy, "Just what I said, Randy, Jenna is my wife."

Ted had wandered over, not quite believing what Cody had just told him and Randy. "Ok, we get that you're married, but you never mentioned anything about her before," Ted said, taking in the pretty woman sitting by Cody. Him and Cody had been friends for a long time, and his buddy had never mentioned that he was married.

She cleared her throat. "That's probably because we've been separated for almost seven years-" Cody cut her off.

"No, Jenna, we weren't 'separated', you up and left me one day while I was at work! All you left me was a note saying you it wasn't working out anymore and that you were leaving. And then, seven, almost eight years later, you finally send me divorce papers! Which, by the way, I am still not signing." Jenna shrank back in her chair a little, stinging from Cody's words. They hurt a little, even though they were all true. "I need you to sign them, Cody. I need to move on with my life," she said softly, not looking him in the eyes, instead choosing to focus on her shoes.

"If you had wanted a divorce so bad, why didn't you file for it the night you left? Why did you wait so many years to do it? Do you have any idea of how worried I was, not knowing where my wife was? Shit, Jenna. I loved you so much and wanted us to work out so badly, but you just up and left? How do you think that made me feel?" Cody was close to the point of shouting right now. Ted stepped in, not understanding exactly what was going on and not wanting his friend to blow whatever chance he might still have with his wife.

"Cody, calm down; stop shouting." Cody turned and faced Ted. "Ted, how would you feel if your wife just up and left you one day, moved half way across the country, and you never heard from her again until she wanted a divorce? Wouldn't you be a little upset?" Cody's blue eyes were flashing with anger. He turned to face Jenna, seeing the fear in her eyes, he tried to calm himself down.

She figured out how to speak again. "Cody, I'm really sorry. About everything. I think we need to just call this a loss and move on. Please sign the papers so I can go."

"Just call this a loss and move on, Jenna? I don't think so. We were in love and we got married. Yeah, things didn't go as well as we planned in the beginning, but we made a vow to each other. Didn't that mean anything to you? Or was this all just a game to you?"

"Cody, you know that isn't true. I did love you, but we were too young."

Randy had been sitting across the room, watching his friend and his wife argue back and forth. He had to say something. If Cody had been him, he would be saying something harsher to her instead of just saying that she had hurt his feelings and that he was upset. "So, Jenna, is it? Let me try and understand this mess. You two were married, then you left for no reason, probably slept around on Cody for a couple years, and then you find out that he's making the big bucks in the WWE, so you decide to file for divorce in hopes you could get part of his money, right?" He was smirking an evil smirk at her that made her want to get out of her chair and slap it right off his face.

"That is the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard, Cody, I don't want anything from you, except your signature on these papers. If you had even bothered to read them, I'm filing because of irreconcilable differences and don't want anything in the divorce, I just want you to sign them so I can move on with my life. I should have done this a long time ago-" Randy cut her off.

"So the question is, why didn't you? What exactly have you been so busy with that you couldn't find time to divorce Cody?" Randy was starting to grate on her nerves. Jenna wasn't even sure why she was talking to this guy; she had come to secure Cody's signature on these papers and then she was supposed to be out of here. Why was this guy sticking his nose in where it obviously didn't belong?

She sighed, "Cody, are you going to sign these or not?" she asked, waving the envelope that held the papers at him.

"No," he said trying to avoid her eyes.

"Well, then I guess I'm going to take off and ask you again in a few days once you've had a chance to think about," she said getting out of the chair and heading towards the door.

"Wait, Jenna. Don't leave. We need to talk about this more. Alone.," he said, glaring at Randy. "I have to be here until 11:00 at least. How long are you in town? Can I see you tonight?"

She took her hand off the doorknob and turned to face him. "I'm supposed to fly to Indianapolis tomorrow afternoon. So I'll be in town until then."

He took a few steps toward her, not wanting to scare her off. "Can I see you tonight?" he said softly as he took a few more steps towards her.

She forced herself to look at him. "I guess so. The sooner you sign these, the better off we'll be. I'm staying at the Best Western on 5th Avenue. It's room 210." With that, she opened the door and walked out of the room, leaving the three men to stare after her.

Nobody said anything for a few minutes. Ted finally broke the silence. "That was...weird. Spill it, Cody."

Cody sighed. He knew his friends were going to ask for an explanation the second she left. "We dated in high school; got married on her 18th birthday. I was so head over heels in love with her."

"I don't blame you. She's very pretty," Ted said softly.

"Anyways, we had planned to get married when she turned 18 and leave Marietta together. The night before we got married, we found out she was six weeks pregnant. It didn't matter that she was pregnant, it was an added bonus because we had planned on getting married way before that happened."

"So, not only have you been married for eight years, you also have a kid? What other kind of secrets are you hiding from us, Cody?" Ted said smiling.

"Well, we got married, had a huge fight with her parents and my dad, and took off for Atlanta. We were living in some crappy two bedroom apartment on a real bad side of town. Everything was fine, but then about two weeks after we had moved, to Atlanta, she lost the baby." He looked at Ted, who had immediately stopped smiling after what his friend just told him. "I'm sorry, Cody. That must have been hard..." Ted had no idea, thought Cody.

'It was hard. It was really hard on Jenna. She had been so excited about this baby and then all of the sudden, baby was gone. She took it real hard. Things started going downhill after that. We fought all the time, I accused her of cheating on me, she accused me not caring. Things were a mess. About eight or nine months into it, I came home from work one night and she was gone. She had left me a note saying that it just wasn't working anymore, that she was leaving, and that she didn't love me anymore. Then I never heard a word from her again, until about a month ago. My dad said she had called him up and said she was sending something to me in the mail to his house, since she didn't know where I was. It was the damn divorce papers."

"Wow. Where was she all these years?" Ted asked.

"Apparently in Minneapolis."

"Huh. Sounds kind of fishy to me, Cody. Like I said to her, maybe she's only doing this now because you're finally a bigshot. You can worry about it later, though. We have a match in ten minutes. You need to clear your head and get ready. No mistakes tonight," Randy growled as he made his way out of the locker room.

"Come on, Cody. We got to go. You can figure this out later," Ted said as he followed Randy out of the room.

Meanwhile, Jenna had checked in her hotel. She paced around the room, thinking about her and Cody and what Randy had said. She wasn't after Cody's money. She didn't want anything from him except her freedom back. She honestly couldn't think of a reason of why she didn't ask for a divorce right after she had left him. She had gotten so caught up in enjoying her freedom from him and not having to fight with him everyday, that she had almost forgotten that she was married. Most people wouldn't have forgotten about something as important as having a spouse, but she wasn't like most people.

It was almost 11:30 when she finally heard a knock on the door. She took a deep breathe and opened the door. Her heart skipped a beat when she saw Cody standing there. His hair was still wet from his shower. He had changed into a pair of dark blue jeans and a button up white shirt. Damn. She moved aside so he could come in. He sat down in a chair, watching her busy herself with some papers that were on the desk and closing her laptop. She looked tired. She had on a pair of gray jogging pants and a black tank top. He saw a tattoo on the back of her right shoulder—a line of pink and blue stars. When did she get that? Her brown hair was pulled into a messy knot on top of her head and she had glasses on. Simply breathtaking, he thought to himself.

She sat down on the edge of the bed and cleared her throat. "So, I guess I owe you an explanation, Cody."

"That would be nice, Jenna. But first, why don't tell me where the hell you have been?"

"In Minnesota. I went to the U of M and I live in a suburb called St. Louis Park."

"Why Minnesota? You hate the cold."

"I wanted to try something new. Cody, I don't want to play twenty questions with you. I just want to tell you that I really am sorry for just up and leaving while you were at work. I wasn't happy anymore, I had to get out. All we ever did was fight and I realized one day, that my mom was right. We were too young to have taken such a big step like marriage."

"But we loved each other, Jenna. You loved me, and I loved you. I still love you..." he trailed off, taking her all in. He slowly moved from the chair and sat next to her on the edge of the bed. "Don't you still love me?"

"I'm sorry, Cody, but I've moved on. You need to do the same thing," she said looking away from him.

"I think you still do love me, Jenna. Otherwise you wouldn't have waited so long to do this."

She couldn't find any words to respond to him. She had been so certain that this is what she had wanted, but now, actually being in the same room with him after being away so long, made that little voice in the back of her mind a little bit louder. Why did she wait so long?

"You do still love me, don't you? If you didn't, you would say you didn't right now. All you've said is that we need to move on; I'm going to ask you again. Do you still love me?" She still wasn't looking at him. He gently took her chin and moved it so she was actually looking at him. "Do you still love me, Jenna?" he whispered.

As she looked into his crystal blue eyes, she surprised herself by saying, "i don't know, Cody." She tried to look away again, but he still had his fingers on her chin. He was going to take a chance here. He leaned in and kissed her very gently. As he pulled away, he hoped she wasn't going to slap him.

"Cody..." she trailed off, not sure what to say. This wasn't how this was supposed to go. She had planned on apologizing to him, giving him some lame excuse, and in return he would sign the papers and leave. She didn't plan on him kissing her.

"Jenna. Please don't ask me to sign these papers again. I don't want a divorce; I want you back."


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

"What do you mean you want me back? Cody, we haven't been together in a long time. What makes you think that you still want me?"

"I don't know...I never wanted you to leave in the first place. I was crazy about you. Not only were you my wife, you were my best friend. I can't even begin to describe how much it hurt me when I came home and found a 'Dear John' letter from you."

"I've built a life for myself without you-" he cut her off.

"So are you saying that I can't fit into that life anymore, Jenna?"

"I don't know." She got up from the bed and went over to the window overlooking the parking lot in the dark night sky. He sighed and watched her stare out the window, lost in her own thoughts. He gave her a minute or two to collect her thoughts before he himself got off the bed and stood behind her. He hesitated for a moment, before placing his hands on her hips. He took it as a good sign for him when she didn't pull away from him. "I know you you really want me to sign these papers so you can be done with me, but how about I make a deal with you?" he said softly. She was listening to him but couldn't force herself to turn around and face him. "What kind of deal," she whispered back.

"A deal where you stay married to me for the next two weeks and we try to work this out."

"Cody, that isn't going to work. I live across the country and have a job that I need to take care of; and you, you travel every night. It wouldn't work."

"We could make it work if you would take a leave from work and come on the road with me and let me remind you of why we got married in the first place; because you love me." He tightened his grip on her hips a little, pulling her back towards him so she was leaning against him. "What do you think? Do this for me, and if you still don't think you love me anymore, I'll sign the papers and you can move on with your life."

She sighed and turned around, looking up into the blue eyes that she once loved. "You promise that if I do this for you, and you'll sign the papers?"

"I promise, Jenna. But you never know, maybe you'll realize that you still love me and we won't need those papers." He was feeling brave tonight. He leaned down and kissed her very softly again. "I should get going. We're leaving at 10:00 tomorrow morning."

"Wait a minute, you mean you want me to leave with you tomorrow already?"

"Well, yeah."

"Cody, I can't do that. I only have enough clothes for two days and then there's my job I need to take care of..." and Andy, she thought to herself. What is she going to tell him? He was a great guy and had been very patient with their relationship while her job pulled her in all sorts of different directions.

"You're a smart girl, Jenna. You'll figure it out. I'll be back tomorrow morning at 9:30. Good night," he said as he walked out of the door and headed back to his own hotel a couple blocks over.

She groaned as she watched her soon to be ex-husband walk out of the room. She grabbed her cell phone off of the desk and flopped down on the bed. She had some phone calls to make. Luckily, everyone who she had to call right now were used to being up late, so getting a phone call from Jenna after midnight wouldn't be a cause for alarm.

She did the easy one first and called her boss, Linda.

"Hey, Linda, it's Jenna. Sorry to call so late, but I have a favor to ask."

"Anything for my star employee. What's up?"

"Well...something's come up on my way to Indianapolis and I need some time off, about two weeks actually."

"Oh, well I hope nothing is wrong."

If Linda only knew. "No, nothing is wrong, just something that I need to take care of since I'm down in this area."

"Can you make a story out of whatever it is for the next issue?" Linda asked with a laugh. Jenna started thinking about what she could write while traveling with Cody. There was some major potential there to get a story written about what it was like living out of a suitcase, that might just fit into something she had been working on.

"Actually, I think I might be able to."

"Awesome. Well, I just pulled up your vacation time record and you're way over due for some down time, so it's all right with me if you need some time off. Just do me a favor, and if you do any writing or research while you're out, make sure you write down how much time you're spending on it so I can reimburse you."

"Wonderful. Thank you so much Linda. I'll check in with you soon. Thanks again." Jenna hung up, a little surprised that Linda was so agreeable with her senior field reporter taking off for two weeks. Linda must have been drinking. Oh well, now she had to make the hard call—calling Andy.

She had met Andy two years ago at a press conference. She was writing an article on the marketing firm he worked for. They clicked right away. He was everything she had been looking for at the time—handsome. Very handsome with dark brown hair and smoldering brown eyes; he stood about 6 foot and had an athletic frame he kept in shape by running. Something she enjoyed doing with him. He was very smart and was always up for a challenging conversation. They had gotten closer in the last few months. He had no idea that she was still married or that she had been married at all.

"Hi Andy. It's Jenna."

"Well, hey you. I hadn't heard from you in a while, I was beginning to wonder when you would turn up. I was beginning to miss you." She could hear the smile in his voice; this was going to be hard.

"Aw, that's sweet. Say, I just got off the phone with Linda and I'm going on assignment for the next two weeks."

"That's a bummer; you're going to miss the Minnesota Community Foundation charity gala."

Jenna groaned; that's right. She had been looking forward to that for months now. "That's right. I was really looking forward to going to that with you, too."

"It's all right, we can just go together next year." Not if my husband has anything to say about it, she thought to herself. "How long are you going to be gone?"

"Two weeks. I'm leaving St. Louis in the morning."

"Must be a good story you're chasing if Linda's sending you out for that long. Listen, I gotta let you go, but make sure you give me a call when you get back, ok?"

"Sure." She said good-night and hung up. Looking at the clock on the nightstand and seeing that it was close to 1:30 in the morning, she decided that she had better get to bed, since apparently her husband was going to show up at 9:30 to pick her up.

_The next morning_

Cody was nervous. He had been up since five that morning, packing and pacing around his room since then. He had told Ted last night that Jenna was coming on the road with them, but hadn't told Randy yet. Randy lived in St. Louis, so instead of renting a hotel, he just went home after the show. Ted had been ok with Cody inviting his wife to go on the road with him, Randy on the hand, was not going to be pleased. Last night after the show, Randy decided to tell his friend that he didn't care too much for his wife, and that Cody needed to be careful with her; maybe even just sign the papers and move on with his life. Cody dismissed Randy's warning as Randy just being himself—an asshole.

Time passed by slowly as he paced around the hotel room. Finally it was time to to pick Jenna up. The closer to the Best Western he got, the more nervous he became. He couldn't believe that she had actually agreed to do this with him.

Jenna was nervous too; she couldn't believe that she was actually going to do this. She was even more surprised that Linda had given her the ok to take off of work for so long. Jenna decided that since she was going to be stuck on the road with Cody for two weeks, she might as well keep a journal about it and see if she can turn it into something she could use for work.

_Day 1: On the way to Knoxville_

Jenna was packed and ready to go before 9:30. She had just checked out of her hotel and was waiting in the lobby for Cody. He finally showed up ten minutes late. He came rushing in the front door of the hotel, scared that if he was too late, she would change her mind and leave for Indianapolis before he could get there. Randy was late picking Cody and Ted at their hotel, making Cody late for picking up Jenna. Randy grumbled the whole way to the Best Western; he was still grumbling about having an extra travel partner when Cody went inside to get his wife.

"Oh, good, you're ready. We gotta go. Randy's waiting."

Jenna groaned. "You travel with Randy?"

"Well, yeah. Him and Ted are my tag partners. Don't worry, Ted's kind of excited that you're coming with," Cody said as he grabbed his wife's overnight bag and motioned for her to get going.

"Ted seems nice, but I don't know about Randy. I don't think he cares for me too much," she said following Cody out to the waiting car.

"Don't worry about Randy. He seems mean, but he's actually all right guy." Cody knew that wasn't true; Randy was definitely an asshole, but he needed Jenna to hurry up and get in the car so they could get on the road. Randy hated getting behind schedule; something Cody learned early on. It would be better for Jenna if she didn't find that out about Randy the first day they were all traveling together.

Cody put his wife's bag in the trunk and opened the passenger door for her. As she slid in, she said good morning to Ted and ignored Randy, who ignored her in return. Cody slid in beside her and they were off.

They drove for a few miles before Cody worked up enough courage to take something out of his pocket. "So, Jenna, I was thinking that since we're giving this marriage another try for the next two weeks, you could wear this." He handed her the wedding band she had left at their apartment all those years ago. She stared at it. "You kept this?" she whispered.

"Of course I kept it. It's yours; put it on." She timidly put it on her left ring finger. It was a simple gold band with a small round diamond. They couldn't afford much back then, but then again, back then she didn't care about big flashy diamond rings, she only cared about him. She looked over at him, trying to force a small smile, noticing that he had the wedding band on that she had picked out for him on too.

After driving for a few hours, Jenna was feeling restless. Usually when she traveled for work, she would fly from city to city. This driving business was going to get old fast. She looked at her watch for what felt like the hundredth time that morning. She groaned very softly when she saw that they had only been driving for two hours. No one had said anything for over half an hour. She looked around the car and saw that Randy was absorbed in whatever music was playing on the radio and driving, Ted had his head leaning against the window and was taking a nap, Cody was absorbed in his gameboy, or whatever that hand held video game thing was called. She smiled a little, remembering how obsessed he used to be with video games.

Cody knew Jenna was staring at him. He put his game down and looked at his wife. "You ok?" he said softly. She nodded, but she didn't feel ok; this felt weird, being in the car with her estranged husband. She stifled a yawn. He shifted a little and motioned for her to come closer. She scooted closer and snuggled into his arms, closing her eyes and trying to drift off into a nap. "Go ahead and catch a catnap; Randy doesn't stop driving until we get to the next city, so it's going to be awhile." Jenna nodded and drifted off to sleep to the sound of her husband's beating heart.


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: Thank you so much for the reviews! Sadly, I own nothing except the OC. If I owned Cody, he would wear much less clothes! :) Enjoy!

**Chapter 6**

Cody watched in amazement as Jenna actually took him up on his offer to sleep next to him. In his arms even. He couldn't even begin to describe the emotions his was feeling right now. It had been so long since she was even this close to him, never-mind even in his arms. He closed his eyes and sighed. He had missed this. This is how they used to sleep at night together; wrapped up in each others arms, listening to her even breathing. He reached down and ran his fingers threw her hair; it still felt like silk on his fingers. He found himself drifting off to sleep too, thinking about how this woman still made his heart melt.

She woke up with a start an hour later. Randy had finally pulled over for a rest stop. He had stopped at one of those random rest areas that looked more like a park with a few picnic tables and building that contained bathrooms and vending machines. Cody's arms were still wrapped around her tight; she tapped on his forearm to loosen up. She smiled at him as they untangled themselves from each others embrace, "Have a nice nap, Jenna?" Cody asked as he stretched. She nodded, not understanding why that nap wrapped up in his arms was the best nap she had probably ever had.

As the four of them stood around, stretching and enjoying the fresh air, she felt Randy's cold eyes staring at her. It made her uneasy. It was going to be a long two weeks if he kept acting like this towards her. She didn't even know him, he had no reason to act like this around her. It was starting to bother her enough to finally say something about it. "Randy, is there a reason you look like you're trying to shoot lasers at me with your eyes?"

He tilted his head to the left and continued to stare at her. "Yeah, there is. I'm still trying to figure out why you're here; and why you've suddenly decided to give my friend another chance. Something isn't adding up here. That, and I think that your attitude, walking around like you're better than everyone, sucks."

"You know nothing about me, Randy. I just met you two days ago; I have given you no reason for you to not like me. If anyone walks around like they're better than everyone else, it's obviously you!"

Cody saw that the heated exchange was about to get out of control between his wife and his friend and stepped in. "Randy, I explained this to you earlier today. We're going to try and work this out between us and see what happens."

"Do you want me to leave, Randy? Because I would be more than happy to get on a flight and head back to Minneapolis right now rather than ride in a car with you for another second," she said as her dark brown eyes flared with annoyance at the tall smirking man. Jenna had only known him for a few days, but she already knew that Randy was someone that she was not going to be able to tolerate.

"Jenna, you're not leaving. We have a deal," Cody interjected. "Randy, whatever imaginary problem you have with my wife, you are just going to have to get over it. She's traveling with us for two weeks. So you're just going to have to get over it; or we're not going to travel with you."

Randy continued his cold stare down at Jenna. She felt the frustration rising up in her quickly and decided to take a deep breathe and remove herself from the situation. Cody watched Jenna walk away. "What is your problem, Randy?" he said as he took off after his wife.

"Jenna, wait up!"

Randy and Ted watched the couple walk off. "Seriously, Randy. What is your problem with her?" Ted asked.

"I don't know exactly; but there is something about her that I just don't like."

"Well, whatever it is, you need to get over it."

"Yeah, I'll think about that, Ted," Randy said as he rolled his eyes at Ted.

Cody finally caught up with Jenna. She was leaning against a tree with her eyes closed. "Hey."

"Hey," she said back. "Why doesn't he like me? Everyone likes me. I didn't do anything to him, Cody." He saw that tears were starting to well up in her eyes. "Honey...don't worry about him. He's an asshole," Cody said softly as he moved closer to her, taking one of her small hands in his. He moved a piece of hair out of her face. She shivered inside as his fingers brushed against her cheek. Seeing the reaction he got from her when he touched her, he decided to try it again; he stroked her cheek with his thumb. Her sad brown eyes weren't looking at him, they were focused on the ground. "Hey, look at me," he murmured softly. She looked up at him and felt her heart skip a beat. For the first time since she came to see him in St. Louis, she saw him. Jenna saw the boy she had been in love with and impulsively married one night. "Cody..." she whispered. "I...I'm really sorry...about everything...I didn't mean to hurt you...I just needed to get out..." she was whispering so softly that Cody had to strain to hear her.

"I know, honey. We're going to work this out, you'll see..." he whispered back, leaning his face down to softly kiss her. She felt herself shiver inside again as his lips met hers. She swore she felt that spark she used to feel so many years ago; but she couldn't be sure. Cody placed his arms on the tree above her head, and gazed at her. He had missed her so much. This had to be a dream, it just had to be, he thought to himself. His sweet Jenna was back and was in his arms again? It had to be a dream. The same dream he had had almost every night since she left him.

Ted had walked in the direction to where he saw Jenna and Cody head off to. Randy was ready to go and ordered him to find them so they could get back on the highway. He saw them against a tree, as much as he didn't want to break up whatever it was that they were doing, they had to get going if they were going to be on schedule.

"Cody, we're ready to go," Ted said as he came over to the couple. Cody sighed, not wanting to break this moment up; he thought him and Jenna were starting to make some progress on fixing their relationship. "Ok, we're coming," he reluctantly said, breaking his gaze away from her. He took her by the hand and they followed Ted back to the car. He opened the door for her, shooting Randy a glare that told him to to leave his wife alone or there would be hell to pay. Randy returned the glare.

The rest of the car ride was uneventful. Randy was silent; Ted was trying to engage Jenna in a conversation about her life; Cody just listened. It amazed him that his young wife had had such an exciting life without him. Her face lit up as she talked about her time at the U of M, her charity work, her career in the publication world, her townhouse in the suburbs. It pained him a little to know that she had done so well without him; there was no way that she would have been able to have lived those experiences if she had stayed with him in Atlanta. They would probably still be living in that apartment, living paycheck to paycheck, bickering constantly, if she hadn't left him.

They finally arrived in Knoxville late afternoon. As they pulled into the hotel's parking lot, he thought about rooming arrangements tonight; was she going to share a bed with him tonight, or would she insist on separate beds? She interrupted his thoughts by letting him know that she needed to go shopping for clothes, she didn't have anything to wear after today. "We have a couple hours before we need to be at the arena, I'm sure we can find a mall or something," Cody assured her, ignoring the eye roll from Randy. "And I'm sure Randy would be happy to let me borrow his car, won't you Randy?" he said pointedly at his friend.

"Whatever. Don't wreck it," he muttered as he tossed the keys to Cody.

Ted and Randy went into the hotel to check in, while Jenna and Cody took off to find a mall. She was surprised at how well they were getting along. It almost, almost, felt like she had never left. But she had, and if they were going to fix their marriage, she was going to have to let go of those old feelings of hurt that kept rising up in her whenever she thought about the months they spent together in Atlanta.

He hated shopping. Just hated it. He gave in to the fact that his wife loved it and settled on being happy carrying her bags and sitting on a bench outside the store as she quickly made her way in and out of the stores. When she finally had enough supplies and clothes to last her for the next to weeks, they were ready to head back to the hotel. They still hadn't checked in; they also still hadn't discussed sleeping arrangements. He was going to take a chance and assume they were sharing a room, and hopefully a bed, unless she voiced concern otherwise.

She followed him to the room, thinking about the pleasant time they spent together at the mall this afternoon. She was surprised that they hadn't bickered at all and neither of them mentioned the fact that they were only together right now, because she had finally sought him out for a divorce. She pushed that fact to the back of her mind and focused on just enjoying this time with him right now. Jenna had no idea how she was going to feel at the end of the two weeks. Right now, it felt like they were still together, it felt like she had never left, it felt like they were still newly married. She felt a rush of sadness pass over her as she remembered why their marriage had gone down hill in the first place—the loss of her baby. She tried to push that sad thought to the back of her mind.

Cody was getting ready to head off to the hotel gym for a quick workout; he found himself distracted by her, however, as she busied herself by putting her new clothes away. He couldn't help but stare at her. She still took his breathe away, and she had no idea. He slowly walked up behind her, placing his arms around her waist, she stiffened up for a brief moment, and then relaxed against him. This experiment was all about discovering each other again, he thought as he softly placed a kiss on the side of her neck, knowing that that action had always driven her crazy. "Cody...what are you doing?" she murmured. "Nothing, just kissing my wife," he whispered, as he kissed her on the neck again, his arms tightening around her waist. She closed her eyes as that familiar feeling of wanting rushed over her. She placed her hand on his, stroking his fingers with her, entwining their fingers together. "Have you decided if you still love me yet?" he murmured as he placed another kiss near her ear, his hot breathe on her ear. He knew he had gone too far when he felt her stiffen against him. Why did he kept going to fast, he thought to himself, as she pulled away from him.

"We need to slow down, Cody. It's been a long time, you can't expect me to just jump back into this," she said softly as she moved away from him and started putting her clothes away again. He groaned inside, chastising himself for his actions. He should have known better.

"I know. I'm going to head out to the gym, I'll be back soon." Sighing, she watched him walk out of the room. She knew that she should just tough this out for the two weeks, then he would sign the papers and she would be able to move on with her life. But what if the life she built for herself was proving to be empty without one important factor? Him.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

They left for the arena when he got back from the gym. She was nervous about going with him; she had no idea what to expect when she got there. She was amazed at the level of energy she felt around her as she walked into the backstage area. The excitement in the air and everyone rushing around, talking loudly and laughing. She was beginning to see why he was so excited to work for this company. He led her back the Legacy's locker room, where she would stay during his match tonight.

On his way to wait for his turn to head out to the ring, several guys asked him who the girl was with him. He took great pleasure in telling them that Jenna was his wife; he smiled even bigger on the inside when he saw their faces when they saw how pretty she was. He stopped smiling, however, when he ran into Layla—one of the divas he had been seeing on and off for a few months now. Cody had never promised Layla anything serious; just a good time. He had been trying to avoid her for the past couple of days, and apparently she had had enough of him ignoring her.

"Cody, what am I hearing about you bringing another girl here with you tonight?" she asked when she caught him and Ted a few minutes before they were scheduled to go to the ring.

"Oh. Well, Layla, it's a long story, but to keep it short, because I'm going on in a few minutes, Jenna is my wife, and we're back together temporarily. So, yeah...:" he trailed off, not looking at her, instead he was focusing on his upcoming match.

"So, you've had a wife this entire time we were messing around, Cody?" her voice was starting to turn into a screech.

"Layla, keep your voice down."

"Answer me, Cody! How long have you been with this Jenna girl?"

"Eight years, now you'll have to excuse me, I've-" she cut him off.

"You had a girlfriend for eight years and you're just telling me now? You're such an-" his turn to cut her off. He turned and glared at her with his blue eyes flashing with the beginning of anger.

"She's not my girlfriend, Layla, she's my wife. We've been married for almost eight years. What part of this are you not understanding right now?" The Legacy's music hit and he shot her one last glare before him and Ted headed out to the ring.

Jenna was in Cody's locker room by herself, working on a story, when the door slammed open and a very angry looking Randy came rushing threw the door. She watched as he stomped into the room and threw something against the wall. He hadn't noticed that she was actually in the room. He stomped around, grumbling to himself for a few more minutes before he finally stopped and realized that he wasn't alone. He spun around quickly and set his cold eyes on her; taking her in. She was absorbed in whatever she was typing on her laptop, her brown eyes set in concentration. Her light brown hair was pulled back with a clip. His eyes traveled down her body—a plain black t-shirt and jeans never fit anyone as well as they did her. He felt something stirring in him as his eyes traveled back up and he saw her gently biting her lip and she continued to type.

Jenna was full aware that Randy was staring at her; she just didn't know what to do about it. She glanced at the time on her laptop—Cody should be back soon, shouldn't he? She sighed, "Randy, can I help you with something?"

Randy thoroughly enjoyed the fact that she didn't seem to be scared of him. It was almost a turn on; he knew he should stop that thought right now—this was his friend's wife. He couldn't help himself. There was a reason they called him a 'lady killer' in the locker room. Randy was going to do his buddy Cody a favor and test his lady killer theory on Jenna right now; see if she was really interested in getting back together with him or if she was just after his fame and money.

She had stood up to get something out of her purse when he walked over to her; he positioned himself in front of her closely. He could tell it made her uneasy as she backed up slowly and eventually her back ran into the wall. She closed her eyes briefly as he put one arm above her head on the wall. She was biting her lip again. Randy found that extremely attractive every time she did that. "So...Jenna. How are things going with Cody," he asked softly, trying not to growl at her. "Have you two kissed and made up yet?" Randy took his other hand and pushed a strand of hair out of her face, letting his fingers brush against her cheek. Her brown eyes, which were confident just a second ago, turned to fear once he had touched her face. He was too close to her, he knew it was making her uncomfortable. Good.

"You're a little too close, Randy. Can you back up?" she said softly.

"Hmm... no, I can't. I like being this close to you," he growled as he leaned his head down and kissed her on the mouth, enjoying feeling her struggle as she tried to push him away. He intensified the kiss and was about to start moving his hands down to her hips, when the door opened and Ted came in. "What the hell is going on?" he Ted asked, raising his voice as he saw what Randy had Jenna pushed up against the wall. "Randy, I don't know what you think you're doing, but you better quit, Cody is on his way back here." Randy reluctantly pushed himself away from her, winking at Jenna before he walked off and busied himself to get ready to head back to the hotel.

"Jenna, what was that with Randy? I thought you and Cody were trying to work things out. He said things were going pretty good with you today," Ted asked.

"I have no idea what Randy thought he was doing. I'm obviously not interested in him."

"Not interested in who?" Cody said as he walked in seeing Jenna and Ted talking.

"Oh, no one. How was your match thingy?" she asked, hoping to distract him from asking more questions about what her and Ted were just talking about.

Cody laughed, "Match thingy? Wow, Jenna, wow. Weren't you watching on the monitor?"

"Oh, no, guess I didn't think of turning it on. Did you win?" she asked, biting her lip.

"Yeah, we did. Do I get a kiss for winning?" Cody asked, winking at her.

Jenna felt her face turning red. "I guess so..." she mumbled as she moved closer to Cody and leaned up to kiss him on the cheek. Cody leaned down and whispered, "How about on the mouth, honey?" She shook her head no; he might have been joking around, but he was moving too fast again.

"Do I get one too? I'm the other half of the tag team?' Ted asked hopefully. Jenna giggled at him and leaned up to give him a kiss on the cheek too. "I won't ask for one on the lips," Ted whispered in her ear.

Cody and Ted finished getting their stuff together and were ready to head back to the hotel in a few minutes. Jenna was quiet in the car on the way back, listening to Ted and Cody replay their match. As she looked at Cody, and saw how his face lit up whenever he talked about wrestling, she started to feel bad about dismissing his dream of being a pro as just a silly fantasy. It was obviously something he was good at and really enjoyed. She just wasn't sure if being a wrestler's wife was really the life for her.

They finally made it back to the hotel. Cody jumped in the shower quick while Jenna flipped through the channels on the tv; nothing catching her eye. Ted had mentioned that a bunch of people from the roster were headed out to the bar tonight after the show, and that she should come with Cody.

Cody came out of the shower a few minutes later with just a towel wrapped around his waist. She desperately tried not to stare; it was hard though. He smiled as he caught her looking at his towel clad body. "Hey..." he said softly, as he grabbed his lounge pants and boxers and headed back into the bathroom to change. Jenna let out a deep breathe, glad he was putting more clothes on. It would have been a really long night if she had to fight those old feelings of desire all night.

He came out of the bathroom, wearing clothes this time, and sat down on the bed next to her. "So...what do you want to do tonight?" he asked softly.

"I don't know. I'm kind of tired and think I'd like to go to bed. This has been...a really weird day," she replied. Cody nodded in agreement; it had been a weird day. There were two queen size beds in the room, they were sitting on one and the other one was still empty. More than anything, he wanted to share a bed with her and have her wrapped up in his arms all night. 'Quit being a baby, and ask her,' he told himself. But before he could bring it up, Jenna jumped off the bed and walked over to her suitcase, where she took out her pajamas and headed into the bathroom to change.

'Get a hold of yourself, girl,' she chastised her reflection in the mirror. Jenna stripped down, put her nightgown on and brushed out her hair. She hesitated for a second before she turned the knob on the bathroom door and went back out to the bedroom area. She saw that Cody had already gotten under the covers and had pulled the blankets on the space next to him down. It almost looked like he had planned for her to sleep next to him.

Cody stared at the angel standing in front of him. She had on a calf length night gown with spaghetti straps that clung tightly to her body in all of the right places. His gaze stayed on her legs the longest, before finally moving up her entire body and finally settling on her pretty face. Her brown eyes looked scared and uncertain; like she wasn't sure if she should climb into bed with him or if she should sleep in the empty bed by herself. Cody was propped up on one elbow, he patted the space next to him with the other hand, letting her know that she was welcome to come lay next to him.

Jenna took a deep breathe and let it out. She walked over to the bed, and climbed in next to him. He leaned over her and turned the light on the bedside table off, hovering over her as he switched it off. Their faces were so close in the dark, that he could have leaned down and kissed her. More than anything, that is exactly what he wanted to do.

He had been taking chances with her the last couple of days, trying to see how far he could get with her; he decided to take another chance and did lean down to kiss her. As their lips met, he felt that old spark again, and he knew that she must have felt it to, because instead of pushing him away, she kissed him back, allowing her mouth to open a little so his tongue could meet hers. Her hands moved to the back of his head, playing with the hair on the nape of his neck, while his hands cradled her face. As the kiss broke, Cody let out the deep breath he had been holding in, "I've missed you so much, Jenna...please don't leave me again,'" he said as he looked down at his wife, her face illuminated in the moonlight shining in from the window.

"Cody, we should go to sleep. It's been a long day and we need to get up early tomorrow," she whispered back.

"Jenna, why can't you just admit that you've missed me too? I know you did, otherwise you wouldn't let me keep kissing you..." Jenna gently pushed him off of her, "Good night, Cody," and rolled onto her side, her back facing him. Cody smacked himself in the head for keeping on pushing too far with her. It was going to take time, he knew that. He laid on his back, staring at the ceiling. "Good night, Jenna."

Jenna tried falling asleep, but it was no use. She wasn't going to be able to sleep next to Cody without saying something to him. "Cody?" she whispered, not sure if he had fallen asleep yet or not.

"Yeah?"

"I did miss you," was all she said before she closed her eyes and tried to fall asleep again.

Cody smiled in the darkness, confident that they would be back together before the two week trial period was over.


	8. Chapter 8

_DAY 2: On the way to Montgomery_

Sometime during the night, Jenna had rolled over and had thrown her arm over Cody's midsection. He was a light sleeper, so the feeling of something hitting him, woke him up. He smiled seeing that it was her arm. He moved her arm off of him and pulled her closer to him. She let out a little sigh of content as her head laid on his chest. He leaned his head down and kissed her softly on top of the head as he drifted back off to sleep.

Jenna woke the next morning with her head on Cody's chest and his arms wrapped around her. He was still sleeping and she didn't have the heart, or the energy for that matter, to move him off of her. She snuggled in a little closer, breathing in his familiar scent, remembering that this is how she used to love sleeping next to him.

Cody was awake. He had been awake for awhile now, even though the alarm clock wasn't scheduled to go off for at least another two hours. He felt his heart beat a little bit quicker when she moved closer to him. Jenna started tracing small circles with her fingers on his muscular stomach; she still couldn't believe how built he had gotten over the years that they were apart. "You awake?" he whispered.

"Yeah. What time is it?" she whispered back.

"Only 6:00, we don't have to be on the road until 8:30..." he whispered as he ran his fingers up and down her upper arm, making her shiver a little and move even closer to him. He smiled as she moved closer; if she moved anymore closer, she would end up on top of him. Not that he would mind at all.

"Hmmm...what do you think we should do until then?" she said so softly that he barely heard her. She had a small smile on her face and her dark brown eyes were sparkling with the hint of mischief that he always loved.

"I can think of a few things we could do," he said as he leaned his head down to her. Forehead to forehead, they looked into each others eyes, trying to find out if they should even being doing this anymore or if they should give up and move on. Jenna found herself breathing a little bit harder having his face this close to hers; she bit her bottom lip and he lost it. He had to kiss her. Very slowly he moved his lips to hers, his one hand wandering down to her hip and pressed down gently, he placed his lips on hers. She closed her eyes and allowed herself to get lost in this moment with him. Her hands wandered to his back, running them up and down, feeling how muscular he was. Cody intensified their kiss, his tongue poking at hers. While one hand was still on her hip, the other one wandered up to her hair, tangling his fingers in the softness. As the kiss broke, she finally opened her eyes, "Did you feel that, Jenna?" he whispered as he moved his mouth to her ear. "Did you feel that spark again? We're supposed to be together.. Please don't make me sign those papers..."

Jenna felt tears starting to well up in her eyes. She placed a hand on his cheek, bringing his face back to hers. "I did feel it. And it scares the hell out of me, Cody," she whispered, trying to force the tears in her eyes not to fall.

Cody moved off of her and sat up and faced her. "Why does it scare you?"

"Because I know I'm not the same person I was when we were first married. I've changed, Cody. I'm not the impulsive and love sick teenager that I was. I almost died inside when we lost our baby...and you didn't even seem to care..." The mention of their lost baby was enough to make the tears start to fall. She brought her knees up to her chest and laid her head down, letting the tears fall freely. It was a long time ago that they lost the baby, but some days it still stings like it was yesterday. The only thing that hurt worse than remembered the baby was how Cody acted towards her afterward, eventually destroying their young marriage.

Cody tentatively reached out a hand to her shoulder, squeezing gently. He had hurt too when they lost the baby, but it wasn't the same for him; he wasn't the one who felt the baby growing inside of him. She was. "Jenna, what happened with our baby was unfortunate and I did care. I cared a lot. I'm sorry if I didn't show it enough. All I had ever wanted to do was have that baby with you.

"You sure had a funny way of showing it, Cody. It felt like I was all alone in it. I know I hurt when I left you, but can you imagine the hurt I felt when you acted like you didn't care." The tears were streaming down her face now. Cody reached out and wiped some of them away with his thumb. "I did care. You have to know that, Jenna."

"It's too early to be having this serious of a conversation, Cody. I'm going to take a shower," she said as she moved away from him and headed into the bathroom.

Half an hour later she was out of the shower, dressed and ready. They still weren't due to leave for another hour or so. "Do you want to grab something to eat before we take off?" he suggested. She nodded as he grabbed their suitcases and they headed down to the lobby to check out. Jenna excused herself to check her voicemail while Cody said he'd meet her in the small hotel cafe.

Cody saw that Ted and Randy were already sitting in the cafe. Ted waved him over. "Morning, buddy. Where's the Mrs.?" he asked Cody as he sat down.

"Yeah, where is the little woman?" Rand smirked at his friend.

"Knock it off, guys...She's checking her voicemail or something. She was mumbling about work on the way down here."

"So, tell us Codes, did you get some last night?" Randy said with his signature smirk. Randy wanted to hear all the details; he bet Jenna was a firecracker in bed. 'Damn it', he thought to himself; he really had to stop thinking about Jenna that way—she was Cody's wife. But he couldn't get that kiss out of his mind.

"No, he didn't get any, but thanks for asking, Randy," Jenna smirked at him as she sat down next to Ted.

"I was just joking around..." Randy mumbled, not looking at her.

They finished breakfast and got ready to get on the road again.

It was Cody's turn to drive and Randy refused to give up the front seat position. Jenna sighed and settled in the backseat with Ted. It was going to be a long drive if Randy kept his attitude up she thought to herself.

Several hours later, a few rest stops, they finally arrived at their destination. It was late afternoon and they had just gotten settled into their room. Jenna had her laptop open and was working on a story for work that she had to have done by the end of the week. Cody was getting ready to head out to the gyn for another quick workout.

He stood behind Jenna, not wanting to leave her. More than anything he had wished that she was the one who had been sitting next to him while he drove instead of Randy. "Hey...I'm going to head down to the gym for a while. Are you going to be ok on your own?"

"Yeah. I need to get this finished and sent off. I'll see you when you get back," she said quickly as she kept working. She was in the zone, the words were flying off her fingertips as she typed quickly. Seeing that she was really into whatever she was working on right now, he kissed her on the cheek and left for the gym.

Jenna worked for another twenty minutes or so before there was a knock on the door. She reluctantly tore herself away from the laptop to answer it. When she opened the door, a short woman with long brown hair and a tall woman with long blonde hair stood there. "Can I help you?" she asked the women.

"Um. Yeah you can. Where is Cody? I need to talk to him," the shorter one said.

"He went down to the gym." The two women were sizing Jenna up, taking her in and making her feel very uncomfortable. She had no idea that the shorter one was the woman that Cody had been seeing on and off for a few months now; Layla was going to make it known to her now.

"Who the hell are you, by the way?" the blonde sneered at her.

Jenna was taken back by the attitude this stranger had just given her, but quickly recovered. She wasn't about to be pushed around by someone she didn't know. "My name is Jenna. I'm Cody's...wife."

"His wife? Cody doesn't have a wife, if he did, he wouldn't have been sleeping with me for the last five months," the shorter one retorted.

"Well, he does have a wife, I think I would know that. I was there after all."

"Where have you been then? You must not mean too much to him if we've never seen you around and he's been sleeping with other women."

Jenna sighed, she was getting tired of retelling this story over and over again. "We've been separated. We're back together. Temporarily, anyway."

"You're damn right it's temporary. Cody likes me!" the shorter one said as she pushed Jenna.

Jenna quickly recovered and pushed Layla back. She wasn't going to get pushed around by some delusional girl. The blonde woman put herself in front of the smaller one, daring Jenna to try that again.

Randy had chosen that moment to leave the gym and head back to his room for a shower. As he passed by Cody's room he saw Layla and Michelle pushing Jenna. "Hey! Knock it off you two bimbos!" He pulled Michelle and Layla away from Jenna and told them to leave before he started pushing them around.

"This isn't over!" Layla yelled as Michelle dragged her down the hall.

Randy smirked at Jenna. She had a look of anger in her dark brown eyes, her hair was messed up a little bit. She looked hot. 'Stop it, man', he told himself. "You all right?" he growled at her.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she replied as she closed the door and left Randy standing there wondering what had happened and what Jenna thought of Cody's girlfriend.


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Wow, thanks for all of the review. Sorry this chapter is kind of short and random, I needed to get it out before I headed out for the day. Enjoy and keep reviewing!**

**Chapter 9**

Cody finished his workout and headed back to the room for a quick shower before they had to leave for the arena. He unlocked the door and walked in, seeing Jenna still sitting at the desk typing away.

"Hey. Did you move at all since I've been gone?" he asked with a smile.

"Argh, I'm on a deadline and trying to finish up, almost done though. Um, yeah I did, for a few minutes anyways. Someone stopped by to see you. A tall blonde who had a nasty attitude and a short brunette with a whiny voice."

Damn it, Cody thought to himself. Layla and Michelle had stopped by; he should have known that Layla wasn't going to take their 'break up' well. She was clingy. "I didn't catch her name, all I caught was that she had been sleeping with you for a while now and had wanted to talk to you," Jenna continued typing, never taking her eyes of the computer.

"I'm sorry you had to find out that way, Jenna. I guess, I don't know what to think."

"Oh, don't worry about it, Cody. It's not like I expected you to not ever start dating again."

"So you're not upset?"

"No, why would I be? It's not like we were actually together after I left Atlanta. I had kind of hoped you would have found someone after a while. It should have made it easier for you to sign the divorce papers."

"Layla didn't and still doesn't matter to me. Jenna, I don't want to sign the papers. I want to still be married to you. I want to give us another chance. Why is this hard for you to understand? I still love you and I know for a fact that you still love me."

She sighed, saved her document and closed her laptop. She turned her attention to Cody. "What makes you think that?"

"Well, for one, you agreed to travel with me for two weeks. You could have said no and went home. Two, you've let me kiss you without slapping me. Three, you slept with your head on my chest last night. Four, you said yourself that you had missed me. Is that enough proof for you?" Cody was getting irritated with his wife right now. She was being stubborn again.

"That doesn't prove anything, Cody. Those are just random events that have happened in the past couple of days-"

"So you're saying that if I asked you right now to tear up those divorce papers you wouldn't?" His blue eyes were flashing with aggravation.

"No, I wouldn't. Cody, I need to move on with my life and I need you to just put your signature on the line. I'm only here right now because you asked me to, and I figured I owed you at least one more chance. I have my own life in Minnesota now, and I'm sorry, but you're not in it anymore..." she trailed off, her eyes leaving his face. She had to do this. She didn't want to mean to him like this, but he needed to see that he could have a life without her, she needed to know for sure that he meant everything that he's said the last couple of days.

"I don't believe you, Jenna. You told me last night that you had missed me, then you told me this morning that you had felt that spark again," he was talking softly, slowing towards her, not wanting to scare her off, "and now you're trying to act tough and saying you want to move on with your life and that I don't fit in it anymore. You and I both know you're bluffing." He was standing in front of her now, his hand reached out to touch her right hip, the other hand resting on her shoulder, he licked his lips and leaned in to kiss her. Again, she didn't fight him off and actually returned the kiss. "Stop trying to fight those old feelings, Jen, just let yourself love me again." He leaned down and kissed her again; this time her hands moved from her sides and rested on his lower back, pulling him in closer.

He reluctantly broke the kiss, knowing that he had to leave for the arena soon. "We have to get going. We're not talking about this right now. We need more time to figure this mess out."

"Cody-"

He placed two fingers on her lips, "We'll talk about it later. Ok?"

She nodded as she watched him head for the bathroom to jump in the shower. She sat down in the chair and allowed herself a small smile-he had called her bluff. He was a smart man.

_At the arena_

Cody and Jenna walked threw the backstage area, hand in hand. Cody was hoping that they didn't run into Layla or Michelle. He still didn't know that they had both pushed her around while he was at the gym. Jenna didn't think it was relevant for him to know about that.

They had almost made it to the Legacy's locker room when they ran into Layla. "Cody! I've been looking for you everywhere!" Layla squealed as she threw herself into Cody's arms. Jenna took a step back and watched with an amused look on her face; she wasn't sure if this upset her or if she found it funny that Cody had another woman wrapped around him.

"Layla, stop." Cody said, trying to untangle the shorter woman from him.

"Cody, why are you acting like this? I thought we were..." Layla saw that Cody was looking at Jenna.

"Oh, I see. She's here. Well. She should enjoy you while she can, because rumor is that once this little 'trial period' is over, she's going to make you sign those divorce papers and take off to wherever the hell she's been hiding. I wish she'd go right now-"

"I'm sure you would like that...I didn't catch your name earlier. Seems that you were too busy shoving me around to introduce yourself. Quite rude of you, if you ask me," Jenna sneered at Layla. Jenna had no problem with Cody seeing other women while they had been separated, but there was just something about this woman that she didn't like.

"Wait, you were pushing my wife around? Layla, why would you even think about doing that?" Cody's eyes flared with anger as he turned his attention to Layla.

"Well...um...you see. Cody, she's only with you right now because she wants something from you—to sign those divorce papers. That's the rumor that's going around. You don't actually think that she still cares about you, do you? I mean, she wouldn't be kissing Randy Orton if she still loves you, would she?" Layla said with an evil look on her face as she looked over at Jenna.

"You were kissing Orton?" Now it was Cody's turn to glare at Jenna.

"Not by choice." Jenna said quietly.

"When did this happen and why didn't you tell me?"

Layla had a satisfied smile on her face, seeing the rift she had caused between the two by repeating a wild rumor she had heard earlier.

"Yesterday and I didn't think it was important."

"One of my best friends kisses you and you didn't think it was important to tell your husband?" Cody was raising his voice now, close to shouting almost. Layla decided to slip away and let the couple destruct on their own, she would pick up the pieces with Cody later.

"You haven't been my husband for a long time Cody, you've only been my husband on paper and you know it!" Jenna was close to shouting at this point also. A small crowd was forming at the end of the hallway, watching the estranged husband and wife argue. Over Randy Orton of all things.

"I can't believe you just said that, Jenna. I never stopped loving you, but apparently you did. Maybe this whole thing was a mistake and I should have just signed the papers-"

"So, let me get this straight, Cody. It's ok for you to be kissing on some girl right in front of me, but Orton forces himself on me, and it's all my fault? You are messed up!"

"He forced himself on you?" Cody said softly now.

"Well, duh. I can't stand that asshole, with his growling and smirking. Did you really think that I would let him kiss me willingly?"

Cody hung his head down; he had overreacted. "I'm sorry, Jenna."

"You should be."

"Wow, you are harsh today. What's gotten into you?"

Lots of things, Jenna thought to herself. She was so torn between the decisions she was having to make-did she pretend to get through this so he would sign the papers so she would be free? Or did she give into those long buried feelings she's discovered that she might still have for her high school sweetheart? "I don't know, Cody. I just don't know," she said softly, feeling like she was on the verge of tears.

Cody had finally noticed that the small crowd that had started forming at the end of the hallway, was now quite a bit larger. He also noticed that his buddy, Randy, was standing there watching the fight happen between him and his wife with an amused look on his face; almost like he had planned to start a fight between them. He would have to deal with him later; right now he had to make sure his wife wasn't going to take off in the middle of the night again and he had a match coming up.

"Come on, let's go back to the locker room, we can talk about this without an audience," he said acknowledging the crowd. Jenna nodded and allowed Cody to lead her away.

Cody, Randy and Ted were in a six man tag team match tonight. Jenna actually turned the monitor on tonight and watched her husband in action. After a few minutes, she found herself actually interested in what was going on. Cody was aggressive in the ring and cocky. She had never seen that side of him before; sure she knew it was all an act, but it was also a turn on. "Stop it, girl," she said out loud to herself.

Twenty minutes later the guys were back in the locker room talking about the match they had just won by cheating. Cheating was Legacy's specialty. The crowd hated it when they won. "Good match, guys, Cody said excitedly. "We should go out and celebrate tonight."

"Definitely, we should go out tonight and whoop it up. Tonight's perfect too. We don't have to be on the

road until late tomorrow," Ted chimed in.

"What do you think, hon? Wanna go out and get some drinks?" Cody asked her.

"Sure, why not." She replied, not foreseeing the drama that was going to ensue later.

They headed back to their hotel to shower and get dressed. Cody was impatiently pacing around the room waiting for his wife to emerge from the bathroom. She had been in there for what felt like forever. "Come on, Jenna! We're going to be late," he shouted, knocking on the door. Whatever she had been doing in there was worth it; because when she finally opened the door and she came out, Cody felt like his heart had stopped. 'Simply breathtaking', he thought to himself. 'I am a lucky guy, I just gotta figure out how to keep her now.'


	10. Chapter 10

****Thanks soooo much for the reviews! Here's the next chapter. I think we can all agree after this one, that Randy is a snake : ( ****

**Chapter 10**

Jenna came out of the bathroom with her light brown hair pulled up into a pony tail. Cody had to remind himself to breathe when he took her all in. She had on a knee length black dress that clung to her on top and flowed freely everywhere else. The spaghetti strap top allowed him to see her pink and blue star tattoo better, along with another one that he hadn't seen before either. It was a small cross in between her shoulder blades. Without asking, he knew what it symbolized—their lost baby.

"What?" she asked softly as he continued to stare at her for a few minutes without saying anything.

"You look amazing, Jenna," Cody whispered softly as he leaned down to kiss her on the cheek.

"Are you ready to go?" he whispered in her ear, causing her to shiver a little with the feel of his hot breath so close to her ear. "Hmmm...maybe we should stay here instead and discuss this shivering problem you seem to have any time I get near you..." he whispered as he moved his mouth from her ear and down her neck, placing soft kisses along the way.

Jenna let herself get caught up in the pleasure of his lips on her neck for a moment before she gently pushed him away. "We should get going before Ted starts pounding on the door," she said softly as she started walking away from him. Cody smiled, watching her from behind as she walked towards the door. He was a lucky man tonight.

The bar as packed by the time Cody and Jenna finally made it. Cody led her over to a table where Randy and Ted were sitting with some other guys from the roster. Cody introduced her to John Cena, Mike Mizanin, Adam Copeland and Jay Resno. She was never going to remember all of their names, so she just nodded politely and introduced herself. "Hi, guys. My name's Jenna. Nice to meet you all."

Cody had left to get her a drink from the bar, while Ted blabbered in her ear about something. She wasn't really paying attention to Ted; her attention was focused on Randy and trying to figure out why he was starting at her with a sick little smile on his lips. She shuddered thinking about how he had kissed her the other day. It might have been yesterday, she wasn't sure, the days were starting to blend together. This two weeks couldn't get over quick enough.

Cody returned with her Jack and coke and sat down next to her. Cody was dragged into a conversation with John and Adam when Randy finally spoke to her. "What are you drinking?"

"Jack and coke," she said softly, not sure why what she was drinking was so important to him.

"Me too. Love the shit, helps you forget your problems in a hurry, doesn't it Jenna?" he said just as softly. She hadn't realized that he had leaned across the table from her until she looked up from her drink and was met by his cold blue eyes.

"Only if you have problems to forget, I guess," she said as she tried to break the staring contest between her and Randy, but not finding the will to do so. What was it about him that she disliked so much, she wondered? Cody finally remembered that his wife was sitting on the other side of him. "Hey..." he said with a small smile, noticing that Randy and Jenna were staring at each other. "Everything ok?" he whispered in her ear. She nodded, finally tearing her eyes from Randy as Cody put his arm around her shoulders and shooting Randy a glare, letting him know that he didn't stand a chance with his wife.

"Oh, my God. Cody, do you remember this song?" Jenna exclaimed as she caught a few words of the song the DJ started playing.

_One, you're like a dream come true, Two, just wanna be with you, Three, girl, it's plain to see that you're the only one for me and, Four, repeat steps one through three, Five, make you fall in love with me, If ever I believe my work is done, then I'll start back at one_

Cody listened to the song for a second before a big smile broke out on his face. "Wanna dance?"

She playfully pushed him out of the booth so she could get out. They moved a few feet from the table and he wrapped his arms around her waist as she put her arms over his shoulders. He looked deep into her eyes before they started swaying to the music. This song brought back all sorts of memories for Jenna. This was one of the songs they used to slow dance together in high school.

_It's so incredible, the way things work themselves out, And all emotional, once you know what it's all about, hey, And undesirable for us to be apart, Never would of made it very far, 'Cause you know you've got the keys to my heart_

Jenna laid her head on Cody's shoulder as he pulled her closer and starting murmuring the words in her ear. Dancing with her like this had been one of the best things in their relationship. He couldn't even begin to describe how good it felt to have her in his arms again, slowly moving to the music together, forgetting about everything and everyone around them.

Randy watched Jenna and Cody sway slowly together. He was finding himself staring at her more often today. And especially tonight; she looked amazing in that little dress. Made him wonder what she had on underneath it. Cody was a lucky guy...

Layla was also watching Jenna and Cody dance together. She was sitting on a bar stool across the room with Michelle. She felt that jealous feeling rise up in her as she watched her man put his hands all over that woman. Who cared if she was his wife? She was his wife on paper only; she probably didn't even let him touch her. She looked like a stuck up bitch who liked to walk around like she was better than everyone. Layla made a silent promise that she would get Cody back; whether his little wifey liked it or not.

The song ended and they headed back to their table. Cody went to get another round of drinks. The night wore on, Jenna drank more tonight than she had in a long time. Maybe Randy was right, maybe she was trying to forget something. Jenna had a sinking feeling that the thing she was trying to forget was her life after she left Cody in Atlanta.

She excused herself to go to the ladies room, nearly falling over when she got out of the booth. She giggled as Ted caught her by the arm. He smiled as he helped her up. "You all right?"

"Yep! Never better!" she giggled as she staggered across the room to the ladies room. Randy looked around the table, everyone else was absorbed in their conversations, so he quietly left the table and headed towards the restrooms. He stood against the wall in between the restrooms and waited for her to come out. He couldn't place his finger on what it exactly was that made him want to keep doing this; she was pretty and everything, but she was technically married to his friend. But there was just something about her that drew him to her.

She finally came out of the bathroom and looked like she was walking a little bit straighter when he caught her by the arm and backed her into the corner, "What the hell-" was all she got out before his mouth crashed down on hers, his tongue snaking inside her mouth. His hands moved down to her hips and pushed her against the wall as she tried to struggle free from his grasp and break the kiss. He was getting so turned on feeling her struggle; maybe that's why he kept doing this. Jenna tried punching him in the sides, trying to get him off of her; Randy kissed her harder.

Layla was on her way to the ladies room when she happened to glance over at the corner and felt a smile spread across her face as she saw what Cody's little wife was doing with Orton. She had to think fast; she took out of her phone and quickly snapped a picture and sent it to Cody's phone. Layla walked into the ladies room with a satisfied smirk on her face.

Randy finally broke the kiss. He placed his hands on the wall above her head, breathing hard as he stared into her brown eyes that were filled with fear. She reached up and slapped him hard across the face just as Cody came around the corner after seeing the picture Layla had just sent him.

"What the hell, Jenna?" he said loudly. Randy spun around and saw his friend standing there with a look on his face that could only be described as a mix between anger and one on the verge of tears.

"Something wrong, Cody?" Randy hissed at this friend, taking a step closer to him.

"Yeah, something's wrong, Orton. Why are you kissing my wife?"

Jenna leaned her head against the wall, closing her eyes, trying to figure out what was going on through her alcohol clouded mind.

"Because I can," Randy smirked as he walked past his friend, bumping his shoulder into Cody as he made his way back to the table.

"Jenna, what the hell is going on?" he asked taking a step closer to her.

She shook her head, not knowing what to say to him. It's not like she actually wanted to kiss Randy. He had taken her by surprise when she came out of the restroom. "I don't know what was, Cody. It's not like I wanted him to do it."

"Seems to be happening a lot, don't you think?" he replied angrily. "Maybe you would rather be with Randy tonight instead of me? You seem to let him get farther with you than you let me."

"Cody. You're being ridiculous. I don't like Randy. I'm not here for him, I'm here for you. Why are you acting all jealous?" Jenna never let Cody push her around before, and she wasn't going to start letting him do it now.

"Jealous? Jealous? Of course I'm jealous! You're my wife and we're supposed to working on our marriage, but it seems like every time I turn around, there you are, getting it on with Randy!"

"That is not true and you know it!"

The two stared at the floor for a while before Jenna lifted her head to look at Cody. "Let's go back to the room," she said softly.

Cody knew he should be a man and let this go and take his wife back to the room so they could sleep the effects of the alcohol off, but he was too caught up in his anger and feelings of betrayal from his friend and wife to do that. "I'm going back to our room. You, Jenna. You can go sleep in Randy's room tonight, since that seems to be what you really want anyways," he hissed at her before he walked away, leaving her to stare after him in disbelief. What the hell just happened?

She took a deep breath and headed back to the table. She groaned softly when she realized Cody wasn't there. He really had left her here. Now what was she going to do? Ted and Randy were still sitting at the table with John. She sat down next to Ted and leaned her head on his shoulder. "What's the matter?"

She looked up and shot Randy a death glare. "My husband left me here and I don't have anywhere to sleep tonight. That's what's the matter," she said slurring her words a little bit. How much had she had to drink? She couldn't remember.

"You can come sleep in my room," Randy said with a smirk.

"Hell no. You, Randy, are the reason Cody is so mad at me! Why do you keep trying to kiss me-"

"I don't have to try and kiss you, I do kiss you, and you like it," he shot back.

Ted interjected, "Knock it off, Randy. Jenna, let's go back to your room and see if Cody's calmed down at all. Maybe he's fine now and will let you stay there tonight. If not, I guess you can room with us," he said slowly, noticing how Randy's face broke into a sick smile when Ted suggested that she could stay with them tonight.

Ted walked with Jenna back to the room. They had to knock on the door because she didn't have a room key. Ted pounded on the door for a full five minutes before he finally gave up. Cody was either passed out already or he wasn't back to the room yet. "So, now what do I do?"

"I guess you come back with me," Ted said, running his hand over the back of his head. He knew for a fact that Randy wasn't going to behave tonight if she stayed with them. He might try to kiss her again...or try to take it a step further.

Back in Ted and Randy's room, Randy was pacing around the room nervously, hoping like hell that Cody was still mad at Jenna so she would have to stay here with him tonight. He got his wish as the door opened and Ted walked in with Jenna. She was refusing to talk to Randy or even look at him. It was his fault that Cody was mad at her and that they were having a spat.

"I don't have anything to wear to bed," she said softly, her eyelids heavy with sleep and booze. Randy threw one of his t-shirts at her. She caught it, looked at it, and threw it back at him. "Gross."

Ted laughed and handed her one of his t-shirts. "Thank you, Teddy," she said softly as she got off the chair and headed back into the bathroom to change. Ted and Randy were arguing about sleeping arrangements—Randy was trying to convince Ted that Jenna was more than welcome to share his bed, while Ted was trying to convince Randy to take the couch so Jenna could have a bed. Both men stopped arguing when she came out of the bathroom. She had washed the make up off of her face and taken her pony tail out. She looked very young. And nervous. Very nervous. Ted's t-shirt was too big on her and hung down almost to her knees.

'That is hot,' Ted thought to himself, mentally slapping himself across the head as soon as he thought that. He was Cody's friend, he couldn't have thoughts like that.

"So...where am I sleeping?" she said as she looked at both men. Randy smirked and pointed as his bed.

"You can take my bed, I guess. And I'll take the couch. Unless...you need some company tonight..." he trailed off, taking a step towards her.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

"I don't want any 'company' tonight, Randy. And I sure as hell don't want your company!" Jenna spat at Randy. He was the reason that Cody was upset with her and had locked her out of their room. Another thought popped into her head; maybe Cody didn't answer the door because he decided to get even with her and took off with Layla instead. Jenna was so busy trying not to look at Randy's eyes, that she hadn't noticed that Ted had wandered off into the other room to go to sleep. She groaned softly, thinking of how foolish she felt getting jealous over something like that.

"Moaning for me already? Shit, girl, I haven't even touched you... yet," Randy said softly as he winked at her, taking a step closer to her. Jenna waited for Ted to step in and tell Randy to knock it off. She looked around the room and saw that Ted wasn't even in the room anymore. "Where did Ted go?" she asked nervously. She was all alone with Randy and it terrified her.

"He's sleeping on the couch in the other room. Already passed out..." he took another step toward her, he was close enough for her to smell his cologne. She took a step backwards. He tilted his head to the right and took another step towards her. She took a step back. He was closer now. He licked his bottom lip and took another step towards her. She went to take another step back, but instead of putting more space between them, she backed into the wall. 'Not again,' she thought. He only had to take one more step towards her and his body would be pressed against hers.

"Nervous?" he whispered as he took that last step towards her. Randy's body was pushed up against hers. She tried to move away from him, but he caught her by the arm and gently pushed her back against the wall. Licking his bottom lip again, he leaned in and instead of his mouth landing on hers, his lips ended up on her neck, kissing very softly. "Good night, Jenna," he whispered as he slowly backed up and turned away from her, heading towards the other bed. Jenna sighed a sigh of relief seeing that he was going to leave her alone tonight. She crawled into the bed and turned the light off beside the bed. She closed her eyes, praying for the room to stop spinning and for sleep to come soon. As Jenna lay in bed, random thoughts were running threw her mind—the look on Cody's face when he saw her and Randy in the corner at the bar, the surprised look on his face when she actually showed up in St. Louis, the car ride to Knoxville where she fell asleep in his arms for the first time in almost eight years, the last fight they had at their apartment in Atlanta, the fight she had with her parents the night she told them that her and Cody had gotten married the night before. The last thought she had before she finally drifted off was of the night she told Cody that she was pregnant

_Flashback_

_Cody and Jenna were laying on the bed together in Cody's basement bedroom at his father's house. They were talking about their plans for tomorrow night. Tomorrow would be her 18__th__ birthday. They were getting married. They had been planning this for a few months now; no one knew they were going to do it except her friend Michelle. Everyone was going to be shocked._

_Jenna had been acting kind of nervous all day and it was finally grating on Cody's nerves how jumpy she had been all day. She assured him countless times that she wasn't getting cold feet about marrying him tomorrow; there was something else that was bothering her. _

"_What's bothering you, Jen? You know you can tell me anything," he said softly as he brushed a piece of hair out of her eyes. He loved her eyes, so dark; he could lose himself in them. "Something bad happen?"_

"_Well. It's not bad exactly...it's more of a surprise."_

"_What kind of surprise?" he asked warily._

"_You know how I went to the doctor yesterday?" He nodded, remembering her saying something about that. "And you remember how we thought I was coming down with the flu or something because I was feeling gross all the time?" He nodded again, they had agreed that it was probably just stress. "Well, it turns out that it's not the flu and it's not stress."_

"_What is it?"_

"_I'm pregnant," she said it so softly he almost thought he misheard her._

"_You're what?"_

"_Pregnant."_

"_You're having a baby?"_

"_Yeah."_

"_My baby?"_

"_Duh."_

_Cody sat back on the bed, closed his eyes and tried to process what his girlfriend just told him. Jenna was getting nervous because he hadn't said anything for a couple minutes; he just sat there with his eyes closed. Then a huge smile broke out into his face as he jumped on top of her, smothering her face with kisses until he reached her ear, "We're having a baby?" he asked excitedly?_

"_Yeah, we are," she whispered back as he leaned down and kissed her._

"_Do you know how far along you are yet?"_

"_Doctor said just about six weeks."_

"_That means...prom night," he said with a huge smile on his face, remembering all the fun they had when they skipped out on the senior prom and parked by the lake instead, wrapped up in each other's, making love in the moonlight._

"_You're not mad are you, Cody?"_

"_Hell no. Why would you even ask that? I'm even more excited to marry you tomorrow than I was before. We're going to have a great life together, Jen. You, me and baby," he whispered as he leaned in to kiss her again._

_End of flashback_

Jenna woke up early the next morning with a pounding headache. She looked around the room she was in, wondering where the hell she was, until she looked down and saw that she had Ted's t-shirt on and then she remembered. Her and Cody had had a fight because of Randy. Jenna looked over at the other bed and saw Randy sleeping soundly. She took this opportunity to get a good look at him. He was devilishly handsome, strong arms and shoulders, a midsection most men would kill for; too bad his attitude was nasty. Looking over at the alarm clock and seeing that it was only 7:00, she groaned and laid her head back down on the pillow, hoping to sleep off this headache.

She was just about asleep again when she heard someone knocking on the door. She waited for a few seconds to see if Randy or Ted were going to drag themselves out of bed to answer the door. Seeing that they were both still passed out from last night's excursion, she dragged herself out of bed and stumbled over to the door. She opened the door and her heart skipped a beat—Cody was standing there.

The look on his face was one of shock. He never expected to find his wife standing in Ted and Randy's room, her hair was all messed up and she had one of Ted's t-shirts on. He was stopping by this morning to see if Ted knew where she was. He had prayed that she wasn't so upset with him that she hopped on a flight home. "This is where you ran off to last night?" he asked softly.

"I didn't run off, Cody, you did. You left me at the bar and then when I went back to the room, the door was locked and you weren't answering. I had nowhere else to go last night. Luckily, Ted is a gentleman and let me stay here last night."

"I see. Easier for you and Randy to get it on when you're sharing a room with him, right?" Cody said sharply.

"Oh, my God, Cody. Nothing happened. I don't even like Randy," she said rolling her eyes.

"It's true, Cody. This girl can't stand me," Randy said behind her. Jenna turned around and looked at him; how long had he been awake?

"Randy, I'm only going to tell you this one more time. Leave my wife alone. We're trying to work things out. And it's kind of hard to do when you're trying to kiss her all the time."

"I only kissed her twice. Well, three times, but that last time doesn't really count; it was on the neck," Randy said with that smirk on his face. Jenna wanted to slap it off of him. Cody eyes flashed with anger, knowing that Jenna had always found it hard to resist him when he had kissed her on the neck; that was her weak spot for him.

"Jenna, get your stuff. Let's go get some breakfast. We're headed to Atlanta this morning."

"Atlanta?"

"Yeah, Atlanta. Remember? We used to live there before you ran off in the middle of the night?" Cody said with an attitude. He was hungover and cranky this morning. He hardly got any sleep last night, worrying about Jenna. He thought for sure that she had taken off on him again and finally given up for good on their marriage.

Jenna felt her cheeks starting to turn red. He would bring that up this morning, wouldn't he? She turned around to get her things from the room, but ran smack into Randy's chest. "Move, please." Randy felt a little smile break across his face. She was so close to him, but he couldn't really do anything about it right now; Cody was standing right there. He moved aside and watched her as she found her dress, shoes and purse. Then she walked out the door with Cody. Cody put his arm around her waist and turned his head to look at Randy, giving him a 'she's mine' look before they started off down the hallway back to their room.

_DAY 3: Headed home to Atlanta_

Cody sat on the edge of the bed watching the morning news while Jenna showered. He sighed, looking at the clock. If they left soon, they could make the two and half hour drive back to Atlanta and be home by noon. They had a couple days off and they could spend the time working things out. He thought for sure last night she had taken off again and he was going to have to sign the divorce papers. More than anything, he wanted to stay married to her. He had been crazy about this woman since he was 16, ten years later at almost 26, he was still crazy about her.

She finally came out of the shower wearing just a towel. Her hair was wet and hung down to her shoulders, her skin still had drops of water left, he could smell her shampoo and body wash from across the room. It took all his strength to resist picking her up and throwing her on the bed and having his way with her. "Patience' he reminded himself. He knew she would come around eventually. He watched her root around in her suitcase until she finally found something to wear.

Fifteen minutes later, she finally emerged from the bathroom wearing a white U of M t-shirt, black jogging pants, tennis shoes and her hair was thrown up in a messy bun. She had also taken her contacts out and was wearing her glasses. It didn't matter to Cody what she wore, she still took his breathe away every time he saw her.

After an uneventful breakfast together, Cody ordered a rental car to drive to Atlanta. Ted and Randy would be staying in Montgomery until they had to leave for Atlanta tomorrow. So it would just Jenna and Cody in the car together. He was looking forward to it, she was not. She hated riding long distances in the car; she would rather fly.

As they made their way through Atlanta, Cody decided to take the route that would bring them past their old apartment. He wanted to see if she would notice. Jenna stared out the window, old memories flashing through her mind. Her heart skipped a beat when Cody slowed down by an old building that looked like it had seen better days. "Hey, Cody, is that our old apartment?" she asked softly.

"Yeah. Looks like hell doesn't it?"

"It does." He pulled over to the curb and put the car in park. For a few minutes, each of them were lost in their own thoughts as they remembered how life was when they were newlyweds. Jenna thought about how excited Cody had been when he told her that he had found a place for them to start their life together in; Cody thought about how she had tried like hell to make that crappy apartment feel like a home. Both of them thought about all the love they had made in that small bedroom and about the screaming matches they would have in the kitchen.

"Are you ready to go?" he asked softly, tearing her away from her thoughts. Jenna was afraid she would start crying if she tried to speak, so she just nodded.

A few minutes later they arrived at his home. He had bought the place a few years ago. It was a large 4 bedroom house with a wrap around front porch on a nicer side of town. He hadn't needed such a large house; but something in the back of his mind told him to buy it big enough in case Jenna ever came back. He had always hoped that she would return to him, they would reconcile, their marriage stronger than ever, and eventually fill the house with lots of kids. It never happened. Until now. He still wasn't sure on how she exactly she felt about him. She would slowly let him back in, and then stop and close herself off again. He knew had to give her time to take it all in, and he would let her; he was a patient man when it came to her.


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: Thanks soooooo much for the reviews and alerts. I can't even begin to describe how much I appreciate it. Here's the next chapter, a little short, but I'm kinda stuck right now. Enjoy!**

**Chapter 12**

Cody had almost two full days off before he had to be in the ring again. He intended on spending every possible moment he could with Jenna, trying to make her see that she did still love him. He was giving her a tour of his house, he left his bedroom for last, not sure if she would be sharing it with him for the next two nights or not. More than anything he wanted her to, but he was beginning to see that he couldn't push her too fast, or she would pull away from him.

Jenna looked around Cody's bedroom, taking it all in. Her eyes took in the king size bed last. Would she be sleeping there with him or would she be staying in one of the empty bedrooms? She could feel herself slowly falling in love with him again, and it scared her. Scared the hell out of her. She had spent the last eight years building a life of her own without him thousands of miles away, and within three short days, Cody had torn it apart. For the first time, she was starting to regret leaving him so soon into their marriage. Maybe she should have stuck it out a little bit longer.

Cody sat down on the edge of his bed and watched Jenna look around his room. His breath caught when she wandered over to the bookshelf and picked up a framed photos. He knew without looking what photo it was. "I can't believe you still have this, Cody," Jenna said softly turning around to look at him.

He held out his arm to motion for her to come closer. She walked slowly over to the bed, still staring at the picture she held in her hands. She sat down next to him, he slowly put his arm around her waist as they both looked at the photo. It was the night of their senior prom, which they never actually went to, but instead took off for the lake to do other...activities. Cody looked strikingly handsome in his black suit with a dark blue vest underneath the jacket. Jenna looked amazing with her hair piled high and wearing a long strapless dark blue dress. They were one of the best looking couples in their high school.

"Why do you still have this, Cody?" she asked as she finally tore her gaze away from how happy she looked in that photo and turned to look at him.

"Because it was one of the happiest nights of my life. It was something that I'm never going to forget, no matter how many years go by."

Cody shifted away from her and got off the bed. He headed over to his dresser and opened the top drawer. He hesitated for a moment before he took it out. He walked back over to the bed and knelt down in front of her, handing her the picture he had taken out of the drawer. She recognized it right away and couldn't stop the tears that immediately ran down her cheeks. "Do you remember how I made you feel this day?" he asked quietly. She nodded and let the tears continue to stream down her cheeks. He reached up and gently wiped some of them away, looking into her dark eyes to see if there was still a chance for them. "I can make you feel that way again, Jen, you just have to let me," he whispered as he got up and started to walk out of the room so she could be alone with her thoughts.

'What did I do?' Jenna whispered out loud to herself as Cody walked out of the room. She stared down at the picture in her hands that he had kept all these years. The huge smile on both of their faces made her want to break down and cry like a baby more than she already was. They looked so young, so innocent, and so in love. It was one of the only photos taken of their wedding ceremony.

Deciding that she had done enough crying for one afternoon, she headed into the bathroom to make herself look halfway decent before she headed downstairs to find Cody. She was halfway down the stairs when she heard Cody talking to someone. Listening closely, she realized that she recognized the voice. It was his dad, Virgil.

She hesitated before walking into the kitchen, not sure how awkward seeing her father in law was going to be. Both men were sitting at the kitchen table not talking when she walked in. The look on Virgil's face when he saw Jenna was one of shock. "Good, Lord almighty! Cody wasn't lying, you are back!" he said loudly as he stood up and walked towards Jenna. She wasn't sure if he was going to hug her or smack her. Luckily, the huge man pulled in for a hug. She let herself be hugged tightly for a few seconds. Virgil whispered in her ear, "You have no idea how much that boy misses you, girl." If Jenna didn't feel bad enough from looking at old pictures of her and her husband, she felt worse now hearing what her father in law had just told her.

He let her go and she sat down at the table with the two men. "Tell me what you've been up to, girl. Don't leave anything out," Virgil said with a big smile, more curious than anything of what possessed her to leave her son in the middle of the night and not show her pretty face again until many years had passed, looking for divorce papers.

Once again, as Cody listened to Jenna talk about her life without him, he was sure that she never would have had any of those life experiences if she hadn't left him. He kicked himself in the ass knowing that he should have treated her differently during their short time together. He could only hope and pray that she was considering giving him another chance. It had only been a few days since they started this experiment, but he could tell she was starting to act differently towards him. She wasn't so angry with him, she cried a lot, and they had had a spat already. But it felt like she would come around eventually. He just hoped it would be before the two weeks was up so he didn't have to sign the divorce papers. As much as he hoped everything would work out, he would keep his promise to her if it didn't and sign them.

Virgil stayed for a little while longer before he decided that he had better head on home. "Why don't you two come on over tomorrow afternoon? Your mama would sure love to see you, son. You too, Jenna." Cody said they would see what they had going on tomorrow but more than likely they would show up.

After Virgil left, they went out into the living room and settled on the couch. "So...what do you want to do?" he asked her.

"I don't know. I know this sounds kind of a lame, but do you think I could borrow your car tomorrow and see my parents?" she asked timidly. Jenna didn't know what Cody had planned for the few days they were going to be in Atlanta, and she figured that as long as she was so close to Marietta, she might as well stop in and visit her folks.

"That's not lame at all, Jen. I think it's a great idea and of course your can borrow my car. As long as you promise to come back," he said with a little laugh, even though he was kind of serious. His worst fear would be for her to take off on him again when he wasn't looking. "How long has it been since you've seen them?"

"Oh. I don't know, seven or eight years," she said softly, looking down at the floor.

"Are you telling me that you haven't seen them since that night we told them we got married?" he asked in disbelief.

"I guess so. Seems like a long time, doesn't it?"

"Have you...wow. Have you even called them since then?" He could not get over the fact that she still wasn't talking to them.

"I have. About four years ago I finally called them up and told them where I was. To say they were pissed would be an understatement. I apologized and everything, but we never talked about me coming home to see them or for them to fly up and see me in Minnesota. So we just kind of left it at that. It's kind of awkward."

"I would imagine so. Wow."

"What do you want to do tonight?" she asked.

"Whatever you want."

"Whatever I want, huh?" she said with a sly smile on her face, moving a little bit closer to him on the couch. Cody felt his heartbeat speed up. What did she have planned? She moved even a little more closer until her legs were touching his. Cody forgot how to breathe as she climbed onto his lap, straddling him.

Jenna wrapped her arms around his neck as his hands moved to her lower back. His heart was beating so fast, it was hard to breathe having her this close to him. More than anything he wanted to push her off, lay on top of her, and ravage her body with his mouth. "What do you have in mind, hon?" he asked in a hoarse whisper. This was torture.

She leaned down and put her mouth close to his ear, feeling him tense up as she blew softly in his ear. "I don't know, what do you want to do?" she giggled as she pulled away from him, and slowly moving off of his lap. "You are such a tease, Jenna," he groaned as she sat down next to him again, grabbing the TV remote from the side table.

"Eh, you'll get over it," she said with a smirk. Before Jenna knew what was happening, Cody had pulled her for a hard kiss on the mouth, his tongue poking at her mouth, looking for an entrance. She obliged and he deepened the kiss, his hands running threw her hair. She was just starting to get into the kiss before he pulled away, leaving her breathless, wondering why he stopped. "Cody Garrett Runnels, you tease!" she said with mocked outrage.

"Eh, you'll get over it," he said with a wink.

She smiled as she moved a little bit closer to him, Cody threw his arm around her and they turned their attention to the movie that was on TV. This was going to be an interesting night.


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

They watched the movie for about half an hour when Jenna started to feel restless. She felt bad about teasing him earlier, but he had paid her back with that mind blowing kiss. She had forgotten how good of a kisser he was. "Seriously, are we going to sit here all night and watch this movie?"

"I don't know. What do you want to do? We can do anything you want to do, Jenna. Just say the word, and we'll do it."

She thought about it for a couple of minutes. She wondered if her friend Michelle still lived in Marietta. "Hey, do you know if Michelle Jackson still lives in Marietta?"

"Not a clue. Last I heard she had married some doctor she had gone to college with. Why?"

"I don't know. I thought it might be fun to see her again. Haven't seen her since..." she trailed off, not wanting to mention that night she left Cody.

"Since you left me. It's all right, Jenna, you can say it," he replied tensely, moving his arm from around her shoulders. "How long did Michelle know you were leaving me before you actually did it?" he asked softly, not really wanting to hear the answer.

"Not long. A few days."

"So, you were so unhappy with me and wanted to leave, but instead of being an adult and talking about it with me, you just up and left?"

She looked down at the floor as she felt her face turning red. "Cody, I really don't want to talk about this right now. I really am really sorry for everything that happened. You know that, right?"

"We're going to have to talk about it sometime, Jenna."

"But, we were having such a nice time, do we have to do it now?" she asked as she moved a little bit closer to him. Once again, Cody felt his heart rate pick up a little, just by her moving closer to him.

"No. I guess we don't. We do need to talk about what we should do tonight, though. It's only 7:00, I don't want to go to bed yet...unless you do..." he trailed off as he winked at her.

"You are impossible," she giggled.

"So are you."

"Nice."

"Thanks."

"Do you want to go out or stay in?" she asked.

"Don't care. Whatever you want to do."

She sighed. She had no idea what she wanted to do tonight. "You wanna go out and get a drink?" She was so bored. If she was home in Minneapolis, she would be headed out to a club out in Dinkytown tonight, not sitting at home watching a boring movie.

"Sure," he said moving off the couch. About twenty minutes later they were ready to head out. Cody was waiting downstairs while she got ready. He sighed, looking at his watch; she always took so long in the bathroom. When she finally came down the stairs, he knew all the time she spent in the bathroom was well worth it. She left her brown hair down, wearing a simple pair of blue jeans and high heeled boots. His breath caught when he took in her red sleeveless, low cut top.

All of the sudden, Cody didn't want to go out anymore, he wanted to stay home and stare at his wife. "Wow. Jenna. You look, you look amazing..."

She blushed and mumbled "Thank you."

"Ready to go?"

They drove to a small club in the city. It was kind of awkward being in Atlanta again for Jenna. She hadn't been 'home' for a long time. She had been in the city a couple of times over the years for business, but never made it a point to seek out any of their old friends. Lots of people seemed to know Cody; she remembered a few of them, but not many. The people she did remember, knew how she had left him without an explanation and were kind of surprised that she actually came back and was here with him tonight.

As the night wore on, and Cody was engrossed in conversations with old friends, Jenna had a few too many drinks. Cody watched his wife out on the dance floor with two girls that she had known in high school. Simply breathtaking, he thought to himself. By the end of the night, Cody counted the number of empty glasses on Jenna's side of the table. Eight, far too many, judging by how she was walking and giggling.

She was talking, actually more like babbling, to Nicole, a girl she was on the cheerleading squad with in high school when Cody looked at his watch and saw that it was close to closing time and that they had better head home. He walked up behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist, "Jen, are you ready to take off yet?" She leaned backwards, so her body was pressed up against his, she smiled a little when she felt something hard against her back. "Yeah, I'm ready."

They said good bye to their old friends and Cody helped her outside and into the car. Jenna was a talker when she had been drinking. She talked the entire drive back to the house. Cody just smiled and listened, knowing that she wasn't looking for any feedback, she was just talking to hear herself talk.

Cody had to help her out of the car when they made it home. She let him put his strong arms around her waist and they headed up the front porch steps. Cody had just shut the door behind him, when Jenna stepped in front of him, pushing him against the now closed door. "Hey," she whispered softly.

"Hey," he whispered back and she leaned up and put her arms around his neck. She was so close that Cody could smell the whiskey on her breath. "What are you doing, Jenna?"

She shook her head and looked into his crystal blue eyes. "I don't know, Cody. I want to kiss you..." she trailed off as she softly kissed him on the lips. Cody's hands moved to her hips, holding her up as the kiss intensified. Cody sighed, not believing that she had actually made the first move tonight. He felt kind of bad when he knew it was because she was drunk and she probably wouldn't have made the first move otherwise.. He backed them away from the door, leading them over to the couch. She realized what he was doing and sat down on the couch, motioning for him to come sit with her. Cody sat down next to her and leaned her back on the couch, their lips meeting once again. He heard her moan softly as his lips devoured hers and his hands got tangled in her hair.

His hands wandered from her hair and down to her sides, across her stomach, while her hands were alternating between his hair and up and down his back. In her drunken haze, she wondered how far she was going to let him go with her tonight. She felt that old familiar tingle as his hands moved across her stomach and started going up her shirt, slowly moving towards her chest. She broke the kiss just so she could take a breath, as the kiss broke, his lips moved to her neck, kissing, and nipping, touching every part of her neck while she let out of a sigh of pleasure. She moved his head back to hers and placed her mouth on his again, remembering how they used to spent hours doing this when they were first married.

As the heavy make out session continued, Jenna had lifted Cody's shirt up and off of him, and unbuckled his belt; he had taken her red top and jeans off. "Baby, we should move upstairs," he murmured in her ear before he started nibbling on her ear lobe. She nodded and they headed upstairs to his bedroom. Cody wasted no time getting his jeans off and laying her back down on the bed. She wrapped her legs around his waist as they continued kissing, touching, exploring, and remembering each others body. She broke the kiss again, her lips traveling from his cheek to his neck and finally to his ear, "Cody, make love to me," she whispered in his ear before her lips traveled back down to his mouth. More than anything, Cody wanted to do just that with her, but he knew he couldn't. It wouldn't be right to do that when she had had so much to drink tonight and wasn't thinking clearly.

He stopped touching her and pulled away from her a little, leaving her with a confused look on her face. "Not tonight, Jenna..."

"Why not, Cody, I want you, please?" she whispered as her hands explored his muscular chest, trailing towards the waistband of his boxer shorts.

"Because you've been drinking, it wouldn't be right."

She sighed and nodded, still wanting the lustful urges she was having right now fulfilled. He groaned inside, wanting to take her, her brown eyes were dark with desire for him, but he had to do the right thing. He moved off of her, and laid beside her, pulling her towards his chest. It wasn't long before he heard her breathing evenly. She had passed out. He kissed her forehead and sighed as he drifted off to sleep himself.

_Day 4_

Jenna woke up the next morning, alone in Cody's bed with a painful headache. She couldn't remember what happened last night, but she was pretty sure that something had happened as she looked down and saw that she was only in her underwear. She pulled on a pair of pajama pants and a tank top and headed downstairs to find Cody.

He was sitting on the couch, drinking coffee and watching the news. "Morning," he said as he saw her come down the stairs and come over to the couch next to him. She leaned her head on his shoulder, "My head hurts. Make it better," she mumbled. He smiled and put his arm around her. They sat on the couch together for awhile, she had drifted back to sleep. He laid her down on the couch, covering her up with a blanket and headed into the kitchen. He was going to let her sleep for awhile.

A couple hours later, she was still sleeping on the couch and he was getting bored. He knelt down beside the couch and watched his angel sleep for a few minutes, before he pushed a lock of hair out of her face, she stirred when she felt his touch. "Jen...are you gonna sleep all day?" She mumbled something incoherently. He smiled as she tried to wake her up again. "Jenna. Jenna. Jenna. You should get up, my dad is expecting us this afternoon." She mumbled again and flipped over so her back was facing him. He got onto the couch, moving her to her back as he climbed on top of her, "Jen. It's time to get up," he said as he kissed her neck, she was starting to stir, but not enough to actually wake up. So he bit down gently on her neck. Her brown eyes popped open at the feeling of his bite. She growled at him as he laughed. "Come on, drunky, let's get going." She growled at him again and pushed him off of her. She sat up on the couch, closing her eyes for a few seconds before she finally got off the couch and headed upstairs to use the shower and get dressed.

Half an hour later, she finally came back downstairs. Her hair still damp, pulled back into a messy ponytail. She had on khaki carpi pants and a t-shirt. "About time," he said. She flipped him the middle finger, still feeling like crap. She found her sunglasses in her purse and said, "Let's do this." He laughed as they walked out to his car and took off for his father's house.


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

Jenna's cell phone rang about ten minutes after they were in the car on their way to Cody's dad's house. She looked at the caller id and saw that it was Andrew, the guy she had been seeing back home. She hit the ignore button and reached over for Cody's hand instead. He glanced over at her and smiled. Things were going well. Maybe they wouldn't need the whole two weeks.

They pulled up in Virgil's driveway. Cody shut the car off but didn't open the door right away. Jenna's phone rang again; she sighed as she looked at the caller id. It was Andrew again. She didn't really want to talk to him right now; as much as she didn't want to admit it, she was actually enjoying her time with Cody. He had surprised her last night when he turned down her offer of sex. Maybe she had misjudged him.

"So...does your head feel better yet?" he asked with a smile.

"No. But the lingering pain will be a reminder of why I shouldn't drink so much," she said as she returned his smile. She looked down and bit her bottom lip. Cody found it so endearing when she did that, that he had to lean in and try to kiss her. Very slowly he moved his face closer to hers, lifted her chin and moved it so he was looking at her, he was just about to make his move when something, or rather someone, landed on the hood of car with a loud thump. Jenna jumped in her seat, and Cody let out a groan when he saw who it was. His older brother Dustin was looking at them through the windshield, smiling from ear to ear. "Little brother!" he shouted with a big smile.

"Wow. I see Dustin is still...larger than life?" she said as she chose her words carefully, remembering the tension that used to exist between Cody's older brother and his father.

"Yep. Some things never change. Hey, get off the car, ya bozo!" Cody hollered at his brother as he opened the car door and got out, shoving his brother off the hood. They pretended to scuffle for a few minutes, before Dustin pulled his baby brother in for a big hug. "How the heck are ya, Codes?" he said. Dustin broke the hug as he saw Jenna get out of the car and stand awkwardly by the front bumper, watching the two brothers interact. Jenna knew Cody didn't see Dustin that often.

"Good Lord almighty! The old man was telling the truth. You did come back! Come here, girl!" Dustin said as he walked over to Jenna and engulfed her in a big hug, lifting her off the ground and spinning her around. "Dustin, I'm going to throw up!" she squealed as he spun her around a second time.

"Yeah, Dust, you might not want to do that right now, someone had too much to drink last night," Cody said laughing at the look on Jenna's face. She looked really nauseous. Dustin set her down and Cody came up behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist. "So, when did you get back?" Dustin asked her as the three of them started walking towards the backyard.

"Couple days ago," she said as he unwrapped Cody's arms from her waist and took his hand in hers instead. Easier to walk this way, she thought to herself, smiling at him.

"How long ya staying?"

"Don't know yet. Two weeks at least," she said quietly, trying to avoid looking at Cody when she said that. They were getting along very well, but part of her still wanted to move on with the life she had built for herself up north. She promised to stick it out for two weeks; and after everything that they had been through, at least she could keep this one promise to him.

The three made their way into the big backyard, where Virgil was arguing with his wife about something. They stopped arguing when they saw that their youngest son and his missing bride had finally showed up. "Well, well, well. We were wondering when you two were going to get here," Virgil hollered as Cody and Jenna came over to say hello. Cody's mom, Michelle, immediately pulled her son in for a big hug. Jenna again stood around awkwardly while they embraced. Michelle let go of her son and looked over at Jenna. The two women looked at each other for a few minutes, before Michelle finally cleared her throat. "Hello, Jenna. I heard you were back. It's nice to see you again," she said politely. Jenna just nodded, knowing that Michelle probably didn't care for her too much right now; not after leaving her youngest son in the middle of the night and not showing up for seven years.

Virgil pointed to some lawn chairs for Cody and Jenna to sit in. Once again, Jenna had to retell the story of where she had been for the past couple of years; this time to Dustin and Michelle. The afternoon was a success; Jenna had always enjoyed how close Cody was to his family, it made her wish she was that close to hers. A few times during the afternoon, Jenna had heard her phone ring, she checked the caller id every time before she hit the ignore button; it was Andrew again. She knew eventually that she was going to have to take his call, but she wasn't sure how she was exactly going to break it to him that she was in fact still married, and was starting to consider reconciling for good with her husband.

Cody looked at his watch and saw that it was getting close to 6:00. "Hey, did you still want to go see your parents tonight?" he asked softly. She shook her head no. They were still going to be in Atlanta for two days, she thought she could go see them tomorrow. Alone. "All right," he said a little confused, but brushed it off, he would just ask her about it later.

Another hour went by when Cody decided that they should take off. They said good-bye to everyone, promised to call and visit soon, and walked back to the car. Jenna was just about to open the passenger side door, when Cody pushed himself against her. He smiled at her. "Can I help you with something, Mr. Runnels?" she asked coyly, knowing that he had attempted to kiss her in the car when they had first gotten here, but he was interrupted by his brother.

"Why yes, Mrs, Runnels, there is something you can help me with..." he trailed off as he leaned down and kissed her softly on the lips. He broke the kiss and she smiled at him. He looked like he wanted to say something, but instead he squeezed her hand and walked around to the driver's side and got in the car. The drive back to his house was quiet; both of them lost in their own thoughts.

Cody groaned when they pulled into the driveway. "What's the matter?" Jenna asked.

"I completely forgot that Ted and Randy were driving up tonight since we have a show in town tomorrow." Jenna frowned, remembering what happened the last time she saw Randy. She hoped he would keep his hands to himself tonight.

Randy was sitting on the hood of his car and Ted was standing next to him when Jenna and Cody got out of the car. Ted smiled when he saw that they were together and they actually looked happy. He pulled her in for a hug, "I take it you two are getting along better?" he asked. She nodded. Randy felt a jealous feeling somewhere inside as he saw Ted and Jenna hug. Why doesn't she act that way around me, he thought to himself. He quickly pushed that thought away as Cody walked by him, playfully punching his friend in the arm. "It's about time you showed up. Did you forget you were having company tonight?"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Cody mumbled as he unlocked the front door and the three of them followed him inside. Jenna took off for upstairs right away, looking to put as much space between her and Randy as possible. They had only been here for a few minutes, and he was already making her uncomfortable. She went into Cody's room, closing the door behind her and sat down on the edge of the bed, pulling out her phone. She had several missed calls from Andrew. 'I might as well call him back,' she thought to herself.

"Hello?"

"Hey, you, it's Jen."

"Well, hey there stranger. I've been trying to get a hold of you. How is the story coming along?"

"Uh, pretty good, actually."

"Good to hear. I just wanted to let you know that I missed you terribly at the charity benefit the other night."

"You did? That's sweet. How was it?" Andrew launched into a full blown description of everything that happened that night. Jenna wandered around Cody's room as she listened to Andrew talk. She found herself looking at the picture of their wedding day she had put back on the dresser from the night before. She felt the familiar sting of tears in her eyes as she tuned out Andrew and remembered that night in her mind.

_Flashback_

_They had just arrived at the home of the local Justice of the Peace. They had made this appointment with him over six months ago. All they had to do was wait until Jenna turned 18. Today was her 18__th__ birthday. His wife answered the door and ushered them inside, smiling at their nervous faces. She had met them both several times over the past six months and really admired the love they had for each other. Cody went over to speak to her husband, while Jenna stood back, looking extremely nervous and extremely in love at the same time._

"_Nervous, dear?" she asked softly. Jenna turned and looked at the older woman, shaking her head. "I'm so in love with him, I can't imagine not marrying him. Plus, we have something else to be excited about," Jenna whispered as her hands wandered down to her still flat stomach._

_The older woman smiled, "Congratulations, dear," as she squeezed Jenna's hand. Cody and the Justice came over and said that they were ready to begin. Cody and Jenna followed him over to the living room, which would serve as the place for their very small ceremony. The words all blurred together for Jenna, until he asked Jenna if she took Cody to be her lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold, in sickness and in health, til death do they part. She never hesitated as she responded "I do." Cody repeated the same vow, with a smile on his face; he also never hesitated as he responded "I do."_

"_By the power vested in me, by the state of Georgia, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss your bride, son," he said smiling as Cody wrapped his arms around Jenna's waist and leaned down to kiss her. The older couple clapped and the woman snapped a quick picture of the newlyweds kissing. _

_The Justice walked Cody and Jenna to the door, "Congratulations, Mr. and Mrs. Runnels, many happy years together to you both." They drove to the local motel that night for their honeymoon. Cody promised over and over again that one day soon he would take her on a real honeymoon, but for right now, this was all he could afford. Jenna reassured him that money wasn't important to her, all that mattered was that they were finally married, they had a baby on the way, and that they were in love..._

_End of flashback_

"Jen? Are you still there?" Andrew was asking her and Jenna snapped back into the present. She had no idea what he had been talking about; she had been too engrossed in looking at the the photo of her and Cody and being lost in her memories.

"Yeah, I'm still here."

"Are you going to answer me?"

"I'm sorry, about what?"

He sighed, getting frustrated that it didn't feel like he had her whole attention. "About when you were coming back to Minneapolis?"

"Oh, not for a while yet. Still working on that story for Linda..."

"You know, Jenna. I'm beginning to think that you're reconsidering your feelings for me."

"What? Why would you say that?" she asked as she moved across the room and looked out the window. She didn't hear Cody open the door and quietly come in.

"I don't know. I mean, you take off for Indianapolis suddenly, and then you call and say that you're going to be out on assignment for two weeks."

"Andrew, you know my job is hectic. I never know where I'm going to be flying off to when a lead decides to talk."

"I know that, but at least when you've taken off before, you've at least called me once or every other day. I haven't heard from you in a while. You do still care for me, don't you?"

Jenna swallowed a lump that had been forming in her throat. "Of course I still care for you, I wanted to call you back earlier, but didn't have the opportunity." She was just trying to get him off the phone at this point. After spending the last few days with Cody, she didn't know how she felt about anything anymore. "I promise to call more often, deal?"

"All right, sounds good. I should let you go, I'm meeting up with a client for drinks in about an hour and I need to drive all the way out to Burnsville."

"Ugh, I hate that drive from St. Paul. Hope traffic isn't too bad."

"Me too. I'll talk to you soon?"

"Yes, definitely."

"All right, I love you, Jenna."

"Love you too, Andrew," she said as she rolled her eyes. Jenna had no idea that Cody was in the room and had been listening to the last half of her conversation with Andrew.

"Good-bye."

"Bye." She sighed in frustration as she hung up the phone; she turned around and threw the phone on the bed, when she was startled by seeing Cody in the room. "How long have you been standing there?" she asked.

"Long enough to hear that you have a boyfriend at home?" he said sadly, turning to leave the room.

"Cody, wait!" He turned around.

"Why didn't you tell me, Jenna?" he asked sadly.

"I don't know. Why didn't you tell me about Layla?" She knew it was petty of her to throw his relationship with Layla in his face when she herself had had a relationship too. "I'm sorry, Cody. I didn't mean to say it like that."

"So, are you really serious with this guy?"

"Not really. I mean, we've gotten close in the past couple of months, but it's nothing like I used to have with you, Cody," she said softly, taking a few steps towards him. Cody felt the anger he had been feeling just a few moments ago, fade away as she moved closer to him.

"Tell me what kind of feelings those were, Jenna. I need to hear you say it."

She hesitated, started to say them, then stopped. She finally closed her eyes and forced herself to say them. "When I. When I was in love with you," she said softly.

Cody took a step closer to her, "Do you still feel that way?"

She bit down on her bottom lip, "Yeah, I think I still do..."


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N: Thanks so much for the reviews. I really appreciate it. This chapter is really random. It takes us back to the last fight Cody and Jenna had before she left him. It also gives a chance to see how they used to act around each other. Thanks for reading, keep reviewing : )**

**Chapter 15**

"Are you serious, Jen? You think you still love me?"

Jenna nodded slowly, sitting down on the edge of the bed while Cody knelt in front of her.

"Please tell me you're not just messing around with me again?" he pleaded softly, his blue eyes searching hers for the truth.

"Cody. I don't know. I think I do, but you have to understand that I've been away from you for a long time. Almost eight years. A lot had changed since then. We aren't the naive teenagers we were back then. I made a life for myself thousands of miles away, and it looks like you did the same for yourself."

"I had to Jenna, I didn't know what else to do without you. I waited for you to come home for three weeks before I finally started thinking that maybe you weren't coming back. I didn't do anything but go to work, come home, wait by the phone for you and sleep. Finally, I had to snap out of it. I knew I must have done something so wrong that made you up and leave, but to this day, I still don't know what it was. What did I do so wrong, Jenna, that made you leave me? Was I really that hard to live with? Was it because of that last fight we had?" Jenna had never seen Cody cry and right now it looked like he might start now. It pained her to see him in such agony.

Jenna couldn't say anything. She didn't want to tell Cody why she left him; she wanted him to keep thinking that she left just because they weren't getting along anymore. "We just...we just couldn't get along anymore...you know that...," she trailed off, thinking of that last fight in the kitchen.

_Flashback_

_Jenna dragged herself up the stairs to their second floor apartment. She was dead tired. Glancing at her watch before she unlocked the door, she sighed. She was late. Again. She had just finished up her shift at the bar and it had taken longer than usual to get out of there tonight. She knew Cody was going to be upset. He expected her home right away after her shift._

_She opened the door and shut it quietly behind her, slipping off her shoes and intended on heading for the shower when someone grabbed her arm in the dark. She let out of a squeak of surprise as the light turned on and saw that it was her husband. "Damn it, Cody, you scared me half to death!"_

"_Why are you so late?" he asked as he sat down in a chair. _

"_Shift ran late, that's all," she mumbled as she headed into the kitchen for something to drink. Cody sighed, got off the chair and headed into the kitchen._

"_Why?"_

"_What do you mean 'why?', we just didn't get done on time. No big deal."_

"_It is a big deal. You're supposed to be home by 1:30. I can't stay up half the night waiting for you to get home. Some of us have to work in the morning," his said with his voice thick with contempt. He hated working first shift at that damn warehouse. It was boring and meaningless work and hardly paid anything, but it was the only thing he could find right now._

"_No it's not a big deal. You could have gone to bed a long time ago. I'm a big girl, I know how to unlock the front door." she shot back. "You're only up right now to make sure that I'm not sneaking someone in through the window. Even though I've told you again and again that I am not cheating on you-:_

"_Why am I doubting that, Jenna? Why do I really doubt that right now? Look at how you're dressed! You look like a damn whore-" Slap! Jenna had slapped him hard across the face. Cody's hand went to his cheek where she had slapped him._

"_Don't you ever call me a whore!"_

"_Well quit dressing like one!"_

"_I have to dress like this if you expect me to make any tips! Someone has to bring money home! Maybe you like living in this shithole, Cody, but I don't!"_

"_Oh, I'm so sorry that this apartment isn't good enough for the princess! I'm so sorry it's not a big house in the country! Maybe you should go back home to your mama instead of staying here with me!"_

"_Maybe I should! Maybe she was right, maybe I shouldn't have run off with you, it was obviously a mistake."_

"_Are you saying that you didn't want to marry me, Jen? Because you could have fooled me! You were the one who said yes when I asked you, you could have said no. But you were so hell bent on rebelling against your parents that you just had to run off with me! Is that why you married me? So mommy and daddy would get mad?"_

"_Oh my God, Cody, that's not true and you know it!"_

"_Then why, Jenna? Remind me again why we got married!"_

"_Because I love you, you jack ass!"_

"_Well, that's a nice way to put it."_

"_Not my fault if you're a jack ass, Cody." She started to walk away when he caught her arm again. "Let go."_

"_No, you are not walking away from this fight, princess. You started it, we're going to finish it!"_

"_Stop calling me princess!"_

"_That's what you are, aren't you? Daddy's little princess?" he said as he sneered at her. He knew more than anything she hated it when he called her that. _

"_You are impossible, Cody Runnels. Just impossible. I don't even know what we're fighting about right now. This is just random yelling because you're jealous over nothing."_

"_I think a husband has every right to be jealous when his wife is out until hours of the night dressed up like a whore, shaking her ass for dollar tips!"_

"_Do you think I want to be a bartender, Cody? Do you really think that I want to be on my feet all night, pouring drinks for nasty old men who leer at me and call me 'honey'? Do you think I really like doing that all night? I only do it so we can pay the rent for this shit hole!"_

"_Once again, princess, you're the victim! You're the damn victim in all of this, and I'm just the shitty husband that makes you work at a bar. I'm so sorry this 'marriage' isn't turning out like you wanted it to!" he yelled as he kicked a folding chair, sending it flying across the tiny living room._

"_I am not playing the victim here, Cody. If you want to talk about someone always claiming to be the victim, let's talk about you!"_

"_Me?"_

"_Yeah, you! Oh, I'm Cody and I want to be a wrassler like my father, but my mean old wife won't let me. Boo freakin' hoo!" Jenna was seeing red and spitting her words at Cody at this point. This had to be one of the worst fights they have ever had._

"_At least I have a dream, Jenna. All you've ever wanted to do was get married to a rich bastard, have about six trust fund babies and sit around wearing pretty dresses gossiping with your equally stuck up princess friends!" Cody ducked as a glass went flying past his head. He had gone too far. "What the hell are you doing, woman, that could have hit me in the head!"_

"_That was my intention you asshole!" She screamed as she stormed passed him and locked herself in their bedroom. Those were the last words she said to him before she took off the next day while he was at work..._

_End of flashback_

"Do you remember that fight, Cody? Do you remember all those awful things we said to each other."

He nodded.

"Can you honestly say you still love me after everything I said to you that night? After I slapped you and tried to hit you in the head with a glass? Can you still say that you love me?" Jenna was trying hard to keep her words even and to keep the tears from falling down her face. She was so confused right now, she didn't know what to think. The boy she had loved enough to run off and marry on her 18th birthday was kneeling in front of her, saying that he still loved her and wanted her back, and all she wanted to do was run away from him again.

"I never got to apologize for that fight. I'm sorry, Jen," he said as he pulled her in for a hug. "I want you back. I want us to try again. Can we at least try again?" he whispered as he buried his face in her neck.

"I want to try, Cody, I really do. But you do understand that we've been apart for a really long time, don't you? I've changed, you changed. We aren't...us anymore. Everything is different."

Cody sighed as he pulled away from her and stood up. "This is getting too deep. It's starting to get late and we have company downstairs. Do you want to keep talking about it?"

"No. Not tonight. Can we go downstairs and make Ted amuse me?" she said with a smile, trying to get Cody to laugh.

"I'm sure he'll be honored to have your attention," Cody said softly as he lifted her hand to his mouth and gave it a quick kiss. They headed downstairs to see what Ted and Randy were doing.

Ted and Randy had taken over Cody's living room. Ted was watching TV while sprawled out on the couch and Randy was sitting in the recliner on his laptop, watching a YouTube video at full blast. Both seemed to be completely oblivious to the fact that Cody and Jenna had been upstairs by themselves for almost half an hour.

"Gee, guys, make yourselves at home, why don't you," Cody said as he pushed Ted's legs off the couch and made room for himself to sit down on the couch. Jenna sat in the recliner next to one that Randy was sitting in, pulling out her Blackberry to check her email. Randy watched her from the corner of his eye. She looked like she had been crying again. Jenna could feel Randy staring at her and for once it didn't make her feel uncomfortable; he actually looked concerned for her. She looked up from her phone and caught his eye. They both held the gaze for a few seconds before she finally looked away. Randy was pleasantly surprised when she didn't say something snarky to him about him staring at her.

Cody watched Jenna play with her phone in the chair. He wondered if she was texting the boyfriend from Minnesota. He should have known that she would have eventually have met someone up there. Whoever this guy was, he must not have meant too much to her, she sure didn't have a lot to say about him. Cody felt himself relax about the whole boyfriend situation; his wife had just admitted upstairs that she still loved him. It bothered him a little that she kept saying that she wasn't the same person she was when she had married him, though. How much could she have possibly changed over the years? His thoughts were interrupted by something soft hitting him in the head. He looked down and saw that Jenna had thrown a small pillow at him. "What was that for?"

"I don't know. I'm bored. I thought you said Ted would amuse me?" she said, trying to hold back a smile. Ted heard his name being mentioned and looked at Jenna and Cody with a confused look on his face. "You said I would do what, Cody?"

"Nothing. Jenna is being...impossible again," Cody said as he threw the pillow back at Jenna, hitting her in the shoulder.

"Ouch, Cody. Why are you so mean to me?" Jenna whined as she pretended to pout.

"I have never been mean to you," he said as the pillow went flying across the room again and hit him in the head. Randy watched in amusement as his friend and Jenna acted like a couple of bored teenagers. The pillow flew across the room and landed in Jenna's lap. Randy sighed and turned his attention back to his laptop. He was just getting ready to hit the send button on a tweet when something hit him in the head. He looked up and saw Jenna grinning from ear to ear, "Hi," was all she said before she jumped off the recliner and hopped onto Cody's lap, begging him to bring her out to do something fun or to amuse her in some way. Randy smiled at her acting like a spoiled brat; it was cute. He could see now why Cody was so in love with this girl.

"Jenna, you are 25 years old, are you telling me you can't find anything to amuse yourself with?" Cody said to her.

"Well..." she trailed off as she leaned in and whispered something in his ear; a huge smile broke out on his face. "We can't do that, we have company, dear." She pouted and got off his lap and went to sit back in the recliner.

"I've got an idea, Jenna. Do you want to play a game?"

Jenna looked over at Randy, and said cautiously, "What kind of game?"

"Well, since you and Cody are hell bent on acting like a couple of troublesome teenagers tonight, how about we play a good old game of Truth or Dare?" Randy suggested with a smile.

Jenna looked over at Cody. He shrugged his shoulders and said, "Why not?"


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16**

"Are you guys serious? How old are you again?" Ted asked.

"Old enough to know that this could get real interesting real fast, buddy," Randy said with a smirk as he looked at Jenna. He was going to figure out her secrets tonight for once and for all, and maybe have some fun with a couple of dares he had in mind for her.

"Whatever. Codes, do you got any beer in your fridge?" Ted asked as he sighed in defeat. He didn't want to play the game with Randy; he had a funny feeling in the pit of his stomach that Randy had suggested the game for all the wrong reasons. Not because it would get Jenna to stop whining about being bored, but because he had other intentions on his sick mind.

"No, I think I'm out. You wanna run to the store with me and get some?" Cody asked.

"Sounds like a plan," Ted said as he got off the couch and headed for the front door. Cody just realized that if went to the liquor store with Ted, Jenna would be alone with Randy. It wasn't that he didn't trust Jenna, it was that he didn't trust Randy and his wandering lips. He looked over at Jenna and saw that she was completely absorbed in her phone again and Randy was busy on his laptop. Maybe they would be all right if he left them alone together. He and Jenna had made a small break through upstairs and was certain that she wouldn't let Randy do anything to her.

"Hey, I'm gonna run down the liquor store with Ted, I'll be right back. Do you want anything while I'm out?" he asked her as he kissed her on the cheek, trying to break her attention away from her phone.

"Gum," she said as kept her attention on her phone.

"Gum?"

"Gum."

"All right. See you in a few minutes," he said as he headed out to the car where Ted was waiting for him.

Randy waited until he was certain that Ted and Cody had taken off before he closed his laptop and set it down. He got off the chair he was on and walked over to where Jenna was sitting. She was busy typing away on her phone. He tilted his head to one side and looked down at her for a second. He reached down and grabbed her phone out of her hands and threw it on the couch. "What are you doing, Randy?" she asked, the look on her face was a mixture of anger and fear. He liked that look on her face; it turned him on.

She got out of the chair and was going over to the couch to retrieve her phone, when he caught her by the waist and pulled her against him. "Oh, no. We are not doing this again. What part of 'I don't like you' don't you understand, Randy?" She barely got the words out before his mouth covered hers and she tried letting out a squeak of protest as he deepened the kiss. She tried pulling away from him, but his arms just tightened around her waist. He started moving them towards the couch; he wasn't sure what his intentions were with her at this point, he just knew that he couldn't help himself from kissing and touching her. Her legs bumped into the arm of the couch, Randy used enough force to push both of them over the arm and onto the couch. His mouth left hers and started exploring her neck. Jenna tried to bring a knee up to inflict some pain on him, but he must have been expecting that she would do that; he brought his large hand down on her knee and pushed it down as he continued to place kisses and small bites on her neck. His lips traveled up to her ear, "I think you do like me, Jenna. Otherwise, you would be trying harder to fight me off. Do you let Cody kiss you like this?" he growled in her ear as his mouth crashed down on hers again.

She heard a car door slam, followed by a second. Cody and Ted were back. Randy must have heard it too, he jumped off of her and quickly walked back over to the chair, acting like nothing had just happened as Ted came through the door first. Jenna barely had anytime to compose herself. Ted saw the flustered look on her face and her swollen lips. He also saw the satisfied smirk on Randy's face. By the time Cody came through the door a few seconds later, Jenna was sitting up on the couch, playing with her phone again like nothing had happened. Ted sighed and knew what Randy had been up to. He shot him a look that told Randy he didn't like what he had just been doing with their friend's wife.

Cody set the case of beer down on the coffee table and sat down next to Jenna on the couch. He gently took her phone away from her. "Hey, now," she said softly. Cody smiled at her, knowing that she would start whining again if he didn't give it back. She had been acting like herself again tonight—pretending to be a spoiled brat when really she was just acting this way to drive him crazy. It was a game they used to play together to see who would give in first and admit defeat. "Did you get my gum?" she pouted as he held the phone above her head and laughed as she tried to reach up and grab it before he pulled it away.

"Yeah. But I don't know if I'm going to let you have it. You've been a brat..." he trailed off as he smiled at her, she returned the smiling, knowing what he wanted in return for buying her the gum. They used to play this little game when they were dating. It drove her insane. Most of the times she wanted to smack him when they played this game, She knew what he was looking for; and she had always given it to him. She put her arms around his neck and pulled him closer to her. She could feel Randy's eyes burning a hole through her as she leaned up and kissed Cody very, very softly on the lips. "Can I please have my gum?" she whispered. He nodded and gave her the pack in his pocket. If she kept kissing him and acting like her old self, he would give her anything she wanted.

"Ok, as much as I would like to watch you two make out all night like a couple of horny teenagers, why don't we start the game? Jenna, ladies first?" Randy said as the two moved slightly away from each other, and turned their attention to Randy. "Truth or Dare?" he asked with a sinister look on his face.

"Um...dare..." she said slowly. She wanted to avoid answering any personal questions about herself. Especially any questions that would force her to answer anything about her and Cody's relationship.

Randy took a drink of his beer, "Are you sure you want to choose dare?" he asked. "You might not like what I'll dare you to do..." Jenna just stared at him. "I dare you to...kiss Ted."

"What? Randy, she doesn't want to do that. This is why I didn't want to play this game, because I knew you were going to try and turn this into some big orgy," Ted said with a hint of anger in his voice, looking over at Cody to see what his reaction was. Cody didn't look upset, he just took another drink of his beer and looked over at Jenna. "Well, are you gonna do it, Jen? You picked the dare."

Jenna bit down on her bottom lip and looked at Cody and then Ted and then back to Cody. They had just started playing the game, and she was already beginning to regret it. She took a deep breath and walked over to the chair Ted was sitting in; she glanced over at Randy who was watching her every move with a sly smile on his face. "Stand up, Ted," she said quietly to him. He reluctantly stood up. Jenna stood on her tip toes and kissed him on the cheek. "Lame! Kiss him on the mouth, Jenna!" Randy hollered. Cody started laughing at how red Ted's face was starting to get. He knew this had to be uncomfortable for him. She sighed and pulled him down to her level by his shirt. She put one hand on Ted's face, took a deep breath and put her lips firmly over his. One of his hands instinctively went to the back of her head, slowly fingering her hair. The kiss didn't last more than five seconds before she broke it and backed away from Ted. She went and sat back down next to Cody, taking his hand in hers. "How was that for you?" he asked her as he took another drink. Jenna had the feeling that something was bothering him now, and she was pretty sure that it was this game they had agreed to play.

"My turn. Randy, truth or dare?" she asked Randy. He sat back in his chair and said, "Truth."

"Why do you keep kissing me?" Jenna asked. Cody suddenly started paying attention again; he wanted to hear the explanation for this one too.

"Because I can. And because you deep down, you like it when I do."

"That's a poor excuse. Try again."

"Hmm...because you're very pretty...because you're smart...and sexy...and you have those beautiful lips..." he trailed off, thinking of their last kiss not that long ago. "And because you're available..."

"Randy. She's married. To me," Cody said quietly, trying to keep his jealous feelings under control.

"On paper only. She said it herself. So what's stopping some other guy from moving in on your territory, Cody?" Randy growled from across the room.

"She's my wife and we're trying to work it out."

"It's obviously not working out if she keeps letting me kiss her. Just like she did while you and Teddy were at the store-"

"He kissed you again?" Cody jumped off the couch and shouted at Jenna. She shank back on the couch, then remembered that she never let Cody push her around, and wasn't going to start now.

"More like he kissed me again!" she shouted back.

"Yeah, but the difference this time, Jenna, was that you and I both know that you enjoyed it this time," Randy spoke up.

"I did not, you asshole. I don't know who you think you are. Why do you think that just because you're Randy Orton you can put your hands all over me anytime you want?" Jenna was getting upset; she felt tears starting to sting in the back of her eyes, but she tried hard not to let them fall. She wasn't going to give Randy the satisfaction of seeing her cry.

"Because I can. Because you and I and everyone else, except for poor Cody, know that you have no intentions of working this out with him. You are only doing this because you want him to sign those papers. Why can't you just admit that?"

"That is not true." Jenna turned to Cody, "Cody, you know that's not true, right?"

"I don't know, Jenna. What do you think? I've laid it all out in the table for you; you know how I feel, I'm just waiting for you to make up your mind."

"You do realize that it's only been four days, don't you? You can't possibly expect me to make a decision that's going to affect my entire life in four days. Cody, we've been apart for seven years. We aren't the same people we were when we got married. For God's sake, I was barely 18 when we got married."

"That's what you keep saying, Jenna. But what you don't tell me, is how we've changed. Look at us. Yeah, it's a really long time since we've been with each other every day. But look, it's only been four days and you're acting like yourself again. You're not acting like this...I don't know. a stuck up woman who's more interested in getting ahead in life. You're you again. The sweet and funny and silly and completely random girl that I fell in love with and married."

Silence fell across the room. No one knew what to say after that outburst from Cody. He was obviously still head over heels for her; but it looked like she was still on the fence about everything.

"I knew that you weren't going to understand," Jenna said as she stood up and started walking out of the room, glaring at Randy while she walked past him. This was his fault. She immediately regretted agreeing to play this stupid game with him. She walked out the front door and went to sit in the porch swing. More than anything, she wanted to fly home to Minnesota tonight. She wanted to be alone and she wanted to think about this whole situation. She knew Cody deserved to know why she left him. He was owed that much. It wasn't the loss of their baby. It wasn't the constant bickering. It wasn't that he was jealous that men would hit on her at work. It was him and his dream. He was the reason she left him. She left him so he could pursue his dream of being a pro like his father. She didn't want to be a wrestler's wife; she didn't want a husband who was only home a hundred days a year. Jenna knew Cody would never take a chance and live his dream if he was tied down to a young wife at home. "I did it for you," she said softly to herself as the tears she had been holding back, finally started streaming down her face.


	17. Chapter 17

A/N: Were you shocked to find out the real reason Jenna left Cody? Hope so, that's what I was going for : ) Read and review Thanks

**Chapter 17**

Jenna sat on the porch swing by herself, lost in her own thoughts for almost half an hour before Cody came outside to check on her. He was afraid he would go outside and find that she had taken off on him. But there she was. Swinging back and forth on the swing; lost in her own thoughts. He sat down next to her and reached for her hand. They sat silent in the dark, holding hands and swinging back forth. Just like they used to do at her mom and dad's house when they were teenagers. He could tell that she had been crying and he was pretty sure that she still had some tears falling down her face. More than anything he wished Ted and Randy hadn't shown up tonight. Things had been going really well for them up until then.

"Are you going to talk to me?" he asked quietly.

"Cody..." she trailed off, not sure what to say to him. It was late and she was tired; she just wanted to go bed with him and feel his strong arms wrapped around her. But she knew she owed him an explanation. She knew she had to convince him to sign those papers and get on with his life. The last four days had been wonderful, but it was time to move on. She couldn't see herself making it through the next ten days with this hanging over her head. No one but Michelle knew why she had really left him. Everyone thought it was because she realized she had made a mistake. Cody thought it was because she had been so distraught over the miscarriage and was tired of fighting with him. Jenna did what she thought was best for Cody at the time. If she hadn't made the decision for him, and left when she did, he would still be working in that warehouse, never realizing his dream of being a pro. She knew that was all he had ever wanted to do with his life. Who was she to stand in his way? Just a girl who fell in love with him.

"Can we just go to bed?" she whispered. She didn't want to talk anymore; she wanted sleep. He nodded and they walked into the house together. Randy had gone to sleep in one of the guest rooms and Ted was still sitting on the couch watching a movie. He gave her a little smile as he saw her and Cody come back in the house, hand in hand. Ted was pulling for his friend; hoping that he and Jenna pulled through this. "Hey, we're headed to bed. You know where everything is?" Cody asked as Jenna started heading up the stairs.

"Yeah. Hey, sorry about earlier. You know how Randy is..." Ted trailed off not really wanting to talk about it anymore. Cody nodded and followed Jenna up the stairs. He wondered if she was planning on sleeping in his room tonight; he hoped so. He followed her down the hall and into his room. Things were looking good for him. She grabbed some pajamas out of her suitcase and went into the bathroom to change. Cody changed into a pair of pajama pants, took his shirt off and climbed into bed, waiting for Jenna to come out of the bathroom before he turned out the light. He glanced over at the alarm clock, and groaned when he saw that it was nearly midnight. It had been a really long day.

Jenna came out of the bathroom fifteen minutes later. No matter how many times Cody saw her, she still took his breath away. She had scrubbed the make up off of her face and brushed out her light brown hair. Her pretty brown eyes were a little red from crying and she had a nervous smile on her face. She was wearing a light blue nightgown that barely covered her thighs. More than anything Cody wanted her to climb into bed with him so he could run his hands over her long smooth legs. He wanted her so badly, but he had to be patient. It really felt like she was starting to come around to him; but he knew he couldn't push his luck.

She climbed into bed and sat up facing him. He turned himself so he was facing her as well. "Weird day, huh?" she whispered. He nodded in agreement. He reached out and pushed some hair away from her face. "What do you want to do tomorrow?" he asked.

:"I should go see my mom and dad tomorrow," she whispered. She never made it over there today. She had woken up hungover, spent most of the day at his father's house, and then came back here with him and agreed to play that stupid game with Randy. She also had spoken to her boyfriend back home. She groaned inside, thinking of Andrew. She thought she had really liked him; he was stable with no intent of ever running off on her and becoming a wrestler. His heart was in business, he was safe.

"Do you want me to come with you?"

"I think this is something I should do by myself. You understand?"

"Of course. Are you ready to go to sleep or do you want to talk some more?"

"Sleep."

He kissed her on the cheek good night and turned the beside lamp off. Jenna snuggled up next to him as he threw his arms around her. They drifted off to sleep hoping for a better tomorrow.

_Day 5_

Cody woke up the next morning with his arms still around his wife. She had rolled over in the middle of night and was laying on her side, her back towards him. He moved a little bit closer and sighed. He had missed this most of all. He glanced at the clock, it was nearly nine, he knew he should get up and head to the gym. He didn't make it yesterday and he had a show tonight; but more than anything he wanted to stay in bed with his wife. After a few more minutes of bliss, he finally untangled himself from her and headed into the bathroom.

After a quick shower and a change of clothes, Cody headed downstairs and into the kitchen. Ted and Randy had made themselves at home and were eating breakfast. Cody grabbed himself a cup of coffee and sat down at the table next to Ted, glaring at Randy from across the table.

"Jenna still sleeping?" Ted asked Cody quietly.

"Yeah. She had a rough day yesterday," Cody replied.

"Ted said I should apologize for last night," Randy spoke up. "I don't think I have anything to apologize for though."

"You do too, Randy. The way you've been treating Jenna and acting around her isn't right. She's married to your friend, but for some reason, you think it's all right for you to keep trying to put the moves on her," Ted tensely replied for Cody.

"I'm just trying to get Cody to see what she really is; she's hiding something, Cody."

Cody shook his head, he knew his wife better than Randy did. True they had been apart for a long time and she kept claiming that she had changed, but he still knew her better than Randy did. "Randy, you've only known her for five days; I've known her practically our entire lives. She isn't hiding anything. She was obviously hurt and confused when she took off on me. We were fighting constantly and I wasn't the greatest husband. We were young and had no idea what he was gotten ourselves into."

"What doesn't make sense is why she didn't file for divorce the night she left. Doesn't that bother you?"

"Of course that bothers me! I never wanted her to leave in the first place. I wanted to spend the rest of my life with her. I'm just glad she came back and agreed to travel with me and to at least try and work this out between us."

The men sat in silence for a few minutes before Ted suggested that they find a gym and get a workout in before the show tonight. He hoped things would lighten up today; they were going to be in Atlanta today and tomorrow before they headed off to Tampa. He knew they were all looking forward to the time off they had after the show in Tampa.

Cody went upstairs to let Jenna know that he was taking off for a while. She was sitting up in bed, working on her laptop when he came into the bedroom. "Hey..." she said softly as she saw him come in the room.

"Hey..." he said as he sat down on the edge of the bed. "I'm going to head out to the gym for a little while. Are you going to be ok by yourself for a couple of hours?"

"Um. Yeah, I should be fine. Actually, can I borrow your car to drive up to Marietta?" she asked as she bit her bottom lip. "I want to go see if my parents are home."

"Of course. But don't you think you should call them first to make sure they're home?"

"I think I'm going to surprise them," she said with a small smile. She hadn't actually seen her mom and dad since the night she told them that her and Cody had gotten married. She had talked to them on the phone a few times since then, but never made the trip back home to see them.

"Ok, if that's that you want to do. We don't have to be to the arena until about six. Are you coming with me tonight to watch the show?" he asked nervous all of the sudden.

"If you want me to, I'll be there."

"I want you there."

"Then I'll be there."

"Ok."

"Sounds good."

"Ok, then," Cody said again as he walked around the bed and came beside her. He leaned in to give her a kiss on the cheek when she turned her head and their lips collided. The laptop slid off of her lap as she turned her body to place a hand on his cheek. The kiss broke and as he looked in her eyes, he saw that they had darkened with desire for him. He knew he had to go, Ted and Randy were waiting downstairs for him. "Later?" he whispered; she nodded as he smiled and left the room to head back downstairs.

Jenna sighed; this was starting to get hard. She was definitely starting to have feelings for him again. She knew eventually that she was going to have to come clean and tell him why she really left. She pushed that thought to the back of her mind as she headed into the bathroom to get dressed and ready to go to her parents house.

Cody had left the keys to his car sitting on the kitchen table for her. She grabbed them and headed outside, ready to make the short drive to Marietta. Half an hour later, she turned to head down the long driveway to her childhood home. She may have been gone for almost eight years, but nothing had changed here. She pulled the car up to the house and turned it off. She saw that there were two cars parked in the driveway, she didn't recognize them, but she assumed that meant her parents were home. Jenna had just closed the driver's side door when she heard the screen door slam shut. She looked up and saw her mom coming out onto the porch with a look of total shock on her face. She stood by the railing and stared at her long lost daughter for a few minutes. "Jenna Kay, is that really you?" her mom said softly. Jenna nodded as she started walking towards her mom.


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18**

Jenna walked up the porch steps as her mother continued to stare at her. Her daughter had changed over the last eight years. Her long brown hair was lighter and shorter; it framed her now grown up face. Her brown eyes looked scared. She was thinner now also. As Jenna made up the steps and finally stood eye to eye with her mother, she pulled her daughter in for a hug, squeezing tightly. It had been so long since she had seen. She started crying when she remembered why Jenna had left and never came back. She had run off and married that Runnels boy on her 18th birthday against their wishes. Jenna's mother let go of her, and held her at arm's length, taking her all in. She wiped the tears from her face and said, "Come on in the house. Your father is not going to believe that you are actually here." Jenna followed her mother inside the house and sat down at the kitchen table. Her mother went off to find her father.

Jenna took this time to look around her childhood home. Nothing had changed. The walls had been painted, but still the same color. She wandered into the living room. There were still a million photos of her hanging on the wall. She was an only child and her parents had doted on her. It was safe to say that she had been very spoiled growing up. How she was brought up and given everything and anything she wanted was why Cody called her 'The Princess' when they would fight. Jenna found herself smiling as she wandered over to the wall and saw a photo of her in her high school cheerleader uniform. She had been captain of the squad. She looked so young and full of hope in that photo.

"Jenna Kay Andrews. I didn't think we'd ever see you again," she turned as she heard her dad call her name.

"Hey, daddy," she said softly as she went to give her father a hug.

Jenna had finally called home after four years of being away, but the phone calls were very few after that first one; she called home on Christmas and Mother's Day. The phone calls were a painful reminder for Jenna of the life she left behind in Georgia.

"Come, sit," her mother pointed to the sofa. "This is such a surprise, Jenna. What brings you home?"

"I was in the area and that I'd surprise you both," she said quietly. Her mother silently noticed that her only daughter's soft southern accent had faded over the years.

"Well, we're definitely surprised. Are you in town long, where are you staying?" her father asked.

"I got in a few days ago, I've been staying in Atlanta."

"Oh. You could have stayed here. Are you here on business or did you come back to see Michelle and Jack's new baby?" her mother asked.

"Michelle had a baby?" Jenna was shocked. She hadn't spoken to her best friend in probably six years. She was too busy hiding from Cody.

"Didn't you know? I thought for sure you and Michelle would have kept in touch; you two were such good friends."

"No, I didn't know. Maybe I'll look her up tomorrow before I take off again."

"So, you're not staying in Atlanta long?" her father asked, a sad look crossing his face.

"Actually, no I think I'm headed off to Tampa tomorrow..." she trailed off.

There was an uneasy silence in the room. Jim and Alice wanted to know why their daughter had finally come home after making it a point to stay away for so long. "Jenna, we want you to know that it's so good to see you and that we've missed you very much. But, we wonder, did something happen that caused you to finally make the trip back down here?"

"Something did happen, I guess. Um. So, you know how I left Cody and made my way up to Minnesota to live with Auntie Jane while I went to school?" Her parents nodded. "I never filed divorce papers on Cody when I left. I figured we would eventually work things out and get back together. But that never happened. So, a few months ago, I started getting serious with this guy that I had been dating, Andrew, and I decided that I had better file the paperwork so in case he did propose, I would be able to say yes," Jenna said in a rush.

"You never filed papers after you left him? Jenna, that was a horrible thing to do! I can't even imagine what that poor boy went through, not knowing if you were coming back or not," her father exclaimed.

"But I did file them, and he refused to sign them, like I knew he would, so we were talking back and forth through the mail and he said that I had to come find him so we could talk about it. All I wanted for him to do was sign them so I could get on with my life. I met up with him almost a week ago in St. Louis."

"Did he sign them? This still doesn't explain why you're in Georgia, Jen," her mother asked.

"No, he refused to sign them, even after I hopped a flight and came down to St. Louis. But he made a deal with me, he said if I stayed married to him for another two weeks and tried to work it out with him, he would sign them if we couldn't make it work."

"I cannot believe you agreed to that. What are you thinking? Jenna, if you don't want to be married to him, then you need to tell him this and go to the courts and get them to start the proceedings."

"But, mom. I think I want to still be married to him," Jenna said very softly as tears started shining in her brown eyes. "I think I still love him. I didn't want to leave him in the first place, but I had to."

"Then why did you leave him, girl," her father asked.

"Because...because I was scared. He always had this big dream of being a wrestler like his dad, he talked about it all the time. You remember how he was on the wrestling team in high school, he was so good,...He wouldn't try out for the wrestling school in Ohio because he didn't want to leave me. I didn't want to be a wrestler's wife. So, I did what I thought was best for him. I left him, so he would have to pursue his dream." Jenna took a deep breath. "I thought I was doing the right thing for him, I really did. He was so miserable working in that warehouse. I thought that if we broke up, he would realize that there's more to life than just me and him and he could finally be happy doing what he always wanted." The tears were falling freely down her face now. Her mother put her arms around her daughter and let her cry.

After a few minutes of sobbing in her mother's arms, Jenna started to calm down. "Is that the only reason you left?" her mother asked softly. She knew there had to be more to her up and leaving than just Cody's dream.

"Um...we weren't getting along as well as I would have liked too. I guess. After we lost the baby, I was so depressed that I didn't even want to try and get along with him..." she trailed off, noticing the look on her parents faces. They had no idea she had even been pregnant.

"You were expecting? When? How? Young lady, explain yourself," her mother's words rushed out.

"We found out the night before we got married that I was about six weeks along, but I ended up losing the baby a few weeks later."

"I'm so sorry, Jenna. I wish you would have come to us about this," her mother whispered.

"I couldn't. You and daddy didn't want me to marry Cody in the first place."

"It's true we didn't want you to marry him; you both were way too young to take on such a huge responsibility like marriage. I wished it would have worked out better for you," her father said softly.

"I don't know what to do about him now, he wants to get back together and try it again, but we've each got our own lives. We live thousands of miles apart, he's always traveling and I've got my career. We're different people. What should I do?" she bit her bottom lip as she asked her parents for advice.

No one said anything for a few seconds."Do what feels right," was all her mother said with a smile. "That's all you can do, honey. You did what felt right for Cody when you left; and that turned out for him. Now it's time to do what feels right for you. And if you think being with him is what feels right, then stay." She took a few minutes to process what her mom had just told her. She knew was going to have to make up her mind soon; and she didn't need the whole two weeks to do it.

Jenna visited with her parents for a little while longer before she said that she had better head back to Atlanta for Cody's show. She promised to call them soon; this time she intended to keep that promise.

Cody was waiting at the house for her when she pulled up. He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw her turn into the driveway; thankful that she had come back instead of taking off on him. She came into the house with red eyes and a smile small on her face. "How did it go?" he asked as she put her arms around his waist and hugged him. "Good," she mumbled into his chest.

"We need to get to the arena; are you ready to go?" he asked.

"Um. Can I have a few minutes to get ready?" she asked as she headed upstairs to change.

Twenty minutes later, Cody was hollering up the stairs for Jenna to hurry up. Once again, all the time she spent in the bathroom was worth it. He had to remind himself to breath and to close his mouth when she came down the stairs. Her brown hair was down, curled at the ends, smoky, sexy make up applied to her pretty face. The knee length brown dress she had on, made him want to stay home tonight and work on taking it off of her. "Jenna...I know I've told you this a hundred times...but wow,...Just wow," he said softly with a huge smile on his face. She blushed and mumbled a thank you. Cody had always been appreciative of her looks and the way she dressed.

"Ready to go?" she asked.

_At the arena_

Cody and Jenna walked hand in hand through the back stage area towards his locker room. Jenna blushed at the attention she was getting from the male members of the roster, while Cody fumed and glared every time man glanced her way appreciatively. She saw that he was getting upset with all of the attention she was getting from the guys and started to regret wearing the dress. When they got to the locker room, he paced back and forth while she watched him from the couch. "Something bothering you, Cody?, she asked as he passed her by again.

"Kind of." He continued his maddening pacing.

"Um. Are you going to tell me what's bothering you? Or do I get to make up reasons?" she said with a sly smile, knowing that he found it irritating when she exaggerated things.

"It's just...I don't...um..." he was stuttering.

"Out with it, Runnels."

"You look really hot in that dress and all the guys are staring at you and it's making me jealous," the words rushed out of his mouth as his face turned bright red.

"You're jealous? That's sweet..." she said quietly as she got off the couch and wrapped her arms around his waist. 'Do what feels right' her mom's words rang in her ears. "They should be the ones that are jealous, Cody. I'm going home with you tonight, not them..." she murmured in his ear.

"I guess I'm a pretty lucky guy, then, huh?" he whispered as he leaned down and kissed her softly on the lips. The kiss broke as they heard a knock on the door. Cody groaned, every time he got to kissing his wife, someone or something had to interrupt them. It was a stagehand letting him know that he was up next.

"You had better get going," she said as she gave him a kiss on the cheek. "Good luck." Cody smiled as he headed towards the door. Things were going pretty good tonight. She had been pretty affectionate ever since she got back from her parents house, which surprised him.

Cody came back to the locker room half an hour later with Ted trailing behind them. They had won their match and were in really good moods. "What do you want to do tonight?" Ted asked as Cody kissed Jenna hello on the cheek.

"I don't know. I suppose we could have some people over at my place tonight. What do you think, Jenna?"

"Fine with me. Is Randy coming?" Both men looked down at the floor. They had had it out with Randy while Jenna was visiting her parents. Cody had finally stood up to him and had punched him in the face when Randy had made yet another lewd comment about Jenna. He had a feeling that Randy was going to leave her alone from now on.

"Probably. But, I think he's going to leave you alone. I had some...words with him earlier," Cody said.

Ted went to his locker room to change and to start spreading the word that there would be an after party at Cody's later on. Cody and Jenna took off to head to the liquor store and to straighten up the living room a little bit before everyone came over. As they drove back to his place, Cody placed his right hand on Jenna's knee. He smiled when she didn't push it away, but instead moved it up to her thigh a little bit. It was going to be a good night, he thought.


	19. Chapter 19

**A/n: I am completely slacking on my other stories; but I just had to get this chapter out! Read, review and enjoy!**

**Chapter 19**

Jenna was getting a drink in the kitchen for Cody when she heard the doorbell rang. Cody went to answer the door and let their guests in. Jenna came out in the living room and saw that Ted, John Cena, Mike Mizanin, Natalya, Melina and John Morrison had shown up. Jenna said hello and gave Cody his drink as he sat down on the couch and pulled her onto his lap. He kissed the side of neck. "We're gonna have a good night," he whispered in her ear. Natalya and Melina let out an "Awwwww" as they looked at Cody and Jenna. She blushed and slid off his lap and sat next to him instead.

The group made small talk for a while when the doorbell rang again. Cody was deep in conversation with Ted about something so Jenna got up and answered the door. She opened the door and wanted to shut it right away. Randy had decided to make his grand appearance. Her breath caught as she took him in; he had jeans on and a tight black t-shirt that showed off his muscular chest, perfect abs, and tattooed arms. He also had a black eye. "What happened to your face?" she asked as she stepped out onto the front porch and closed the door behind her, leaning against it.

"Seems that your husband finally had enough of me," he said with a smirk.

"I don't blame him. I've had enough of you too," she said softly.

"I doubt that. Otherwise you wouldn't be standing out here all alone with me..." he trailed off as he took a step closer to her. Jenna felt her heart rate pick up; he was getting too close again, and this time she had encouraged him by putting herself alone with him on the front porch.

Thankfully a car pulled up in the driveway and Randy took a step away from her. Two women got out of the car and headed up the steps. Jenna groaned softly when she saw who it was. Layla and Michelle. "Look, Michelle, Cody's perfect little wife is at it again with Randy. She just can't seem to stay away from him," Layla said with a sneer on her face. "Poor Cody needs a real woman who isn't going to run off on him to be in the dark with his best friend."

Jenna rolled her eyes and went back into the house. The group was starting to get a little bit more lively as Jenna headed towards the kitchen to get herself a drink. She couldn't believe that Cody had invited Layla over tonight. What was he thinking? She made herself a drink, thought about it, and poured herself a shot of Jack too. She threw the shot back and felt that familiar burn down her throat as the liquid made its way through her system. She grabbed her drink and headed into the living room. She looked around the room and saw that Layla, Michelle and Randy must have still been out on the porch. Cody was involved in an animated conversation with Cena and Morrison about their match tonight. Jenna sat in a chair and watched Cody's face light up as he talked about wrestling. It was obvious that he was living his dream. The front door opened and Layla, Michelle and Randy came in. Jenna rolled her eyes as Layla squealed in delight as she saw Cody. Layla tried pulling Cody in for a hug, but he pushed her away. He looked over at Jenna and saw that she had an irritated look on her face as she raised her glass to him and drank the rest of her drink down in one shot. She got up and went into the kitchen to refill her glass. Cody sighed as Layla started babbling at him about something or other. This girl just didn't get it; he was married and didn't want her anymore. She had served her purpose and now it was done because Jenna had come back to him.

Jenna poured herself another drink and was leaning against the counter sipping it slowly as Ted came into the kitchen. "Hey..." he said as he grabbed himself a beer.

"Hey."

"So, it gets pretty awkward whenever Layla shows up doesn't it?"

"That's an understatement. Why did he invite her?"

"He didn't. I was talking to some people about tonight and she must have overheard. It's not like me and Cody actually told her to come."

"Huh," Jenna said as he finished her drink and turned around to make herself another one. Her head was starting to feel spacey, but she kept pouring.

"Maybe you should slow down, Jen..." Ted trailed off as he watched her pour her third drink of the evening.

"Let's get something straight, Teddy. Don't tell me what to do," she said with a glare as she headed back into the living room, leaving him to shake his head as she walked away. He was just trying to be helpful.

Jenna walked back into the living room and saw red. Layla had propped herself up on Cody's lap and they were talking softly to one another. She had one hand stroking her hair, he had a hand on her knee. Before Jenna realized what she was doing, she set her drink down and yanked Layla off of Cody's lap by her hair, throwing her to the ground. She got one kick in to Layla's ribs and was about to do it again when she felt a very strong pair of arms pull her away from the stunned woman on the floor. Jenna kept kicking at the air, struggling to get free so she could get at Layla again. Whoever was holding Jenna back, loosened their grip on her enough for her to wiggle away and attack Layla again. Jenna picked the dark haired woman up by her arm and slapped her across the face. The two woman stood eye to eye for a brief second before Layla reached out and slapped Jenna across her face. "You bitch!" Layla screamed as she drove her shoulder into Jenna's stomach, knocking her to the ground. Cody pulled Layla off of Jenna and dragged her away to the other side of the room; the strong arms that had pulled Jenna off before were around her waist again, pulling her away. "You need to calm down, girl," the person growled in her ear. She turned around saw that it was Randy who was growling in her ear. Randy grabbed her arm and pulled her into the kitchen, grabbing the bottle of Jack Daniels off the counter, and out the back door. Jenna was seething with anger. Randy handed her the bottle and Jenna took a long swallow, the liquid burning down her throat. "Who the hell does she think she is? That's my husband!" Jenna was pacing back and forth, stopping every few steps to take another shot. Randy sat on the step with his back against the door, watching her pace and mumble to herself. It was amusing him to watch her get so worked up over practically nothing,

"He hasn't been your husband for a long time, Jenna. You and I and everyone in there knows that," Randy said quietly as he reached for the bottle so he could have a shot too. "You don't really want him back. You know that and I know that. You just need to tell Cody that."

"Do you know what the problem is," she asked, reaching for the bottle from him, "The problem is that I don't know what I want. At first I had wanted him to just sign the damn papers so I could move on with my life. Then I wanted to try and make it work between us. Then, I thought we were getting along fine. But now. But now, I walk away for not even five minutes and that bitch is sitting on his lap, and he's whispering into her ear." She took another long drink. The bottle was almost empty at this point. "What is so wrong with me, that I turn around for a second, and there she is, on his lap and he's smiling ear to ear!" She took the final drink out of the bottle and threw it against the side of the house, watching it shatter. "Is there something wrong with me, Randy?" she asked softly. In the short amount of time that she had been at Cody's house, she had almost drunk an entire half liter of Jack Daniels, and it was hitting her fast and hard.

Randy cocked his head to the side and looked at her. She still had that amazingly hot and skimpy brown dress on, her soft hair was mussed up a little from getting knocked down by Layla. Her brown eyes were dark with anger and slightly glazed over by the effects of the whiskey. He stood up and walked towards her; for the first time ever, she didn't flinch with him so close. He tentatively reached out and placed a hand on her hip. "There is nothing wrong with you, Jenna. You are perfect. And it's too bad that Cody can't see that..." he trailed off in her ear as he pulled her closer. "But you know what, I see it...and it makes me want you that much more..." he leaned down and pressed his lips down over hers. She responded immediately to his kiss, her arms moved to his waist, pulling him closer to her. They continued kissing in the backyard for a few minutes, his hands started wandering down her back and through her hair. Randy was just getting ready to suggest that they take off for a hotel room when the back door opened and a very angry Cody walked out and saw his wife and best friend in a heated embrace. It was Cody's turn to see red.

He stomped over to the kissing couple and pulled Jenna away from Randy, shooting her an evil glare. He swung and his fist connected with Randy's cheek, knocking him backwards. Cody was immediately on top of Randy, hitting him repeatedly in the face. "You asshole, that's my wife you keep touching!" Jenna stumbled through the back door and grabbed the nearest man in the kitchen, "Please, help!" She stumbled back out the door as Mike ran over and pulled Cody off of Randy. "Dude, get a hold of yourself! Beating the shit out of Randy isn't going to fix anything." Mike managed to calm Cody down long enough for Randy to regain his composure and came charging at Cody, knocking both and Mike to the ground. A few more guys came outside and pulled the men apart. Ted took control of the situation and asked everyone to leave. This small gathering had gotten out of control quickly and he was putting a stop to it before someone really got hurt. Ted managed to get Randy and Mike back in the house, leaving Cody and Jenna alone in the backyard; he figured they need some private time to talk about what just happened.

Jenna sat down on the step, her head in her hands. Everything was spinning; she had drank too much too quickly and was now feeling the effects. Cody stood by the tree and closed his eyes. "Jen, what the hell just happened? Why were you kissing Randy again?"

"Why was Layla on your lap?" Jenna shot back. She was ready to fight.

"It doesn't matter. I didn't want her there-"

"Sure looked like you did to me!"

"Stop being difficult and listen to me."

"I am not being difficult!"

"Yes, princess, you are," he spat back, narrowing his eyes at the word princess. Jenna saw red again when he uttered that word.

"Don't call me princess. You know I hate it when you call me that!"

"Then quit acting like a spoiled princess, Jenna! We were getting along just fine, then all of the sudden you develop a mean jealous streak and kicked Layla in the ribs, and slapped her! What the hell is wrong with you?"

"Me? What about you? Why was she on your lap in the first place, Cody? I thought we were trying to work things out and I turn my back for five seconds and your little girlfriend is on your lap, giggling in your ear! And you know what gets me the most, Cody, is that you saw me come back in the room and you didn't bother trying to hide it!"

"Oh, you want to play this game, princess? How about the fact that I came outside to talk to you about what happened and explain myself, when what do I see? You and my best friend making out! And you were definitely not pushing him away this time. Care to explain that?"

"I don't have to explain anything to you!"

Yes, you do, princess. Explain to me what the hell just happened."

"No. I don't owe you an explanation for anything. Do you know why? Because I'm leaving. I am done. I am going home. This was stupid for me to try and play your little game. I'm done!" she shouted as she opened the back door and walked into the kitchen. Ted was sitting at the counter waiting for Cody to come back inside. She glared at Ted as she stomped through the kitchen and headed upstairs to the bedroom to start packing her clothes. She made it up the stairs and almost tipped over, her head was spinning again from both the alcohol and her anger.

She had thrown her suitcase on the bed and was throwing clothes in it when she heard the back door slam and someone came running up the stairs. "Jenna, what are you doing? It's after midnight and you're drunk, you aren't leaving tonight," Cody said from the door. He didn't want her to leave. He especially didn't want her to leave in the state she was in right now. He wanted her to stay and talk to him about this.

"I'm done. This was a mistake. I should have just done what I should have done a long time ago. I should have just requested the court to push the papers through and let them deal with you. I don't know what I was thinking agreeing to try this again. It obviously isn't going to work, I don't know why I thought things would have changed. It's the same shit as before." She continued putting clothes in her suitcase.

He came into the room, shutting the door behind him. There were still a few people left downstairs and he didn't want them to overhear another fight. He was pretty sure that everyone had heard them yelling at each other outside. Rumors were going to be running wild tomorrow in the locker room. "No, it's not the same shit as before. You're trying to leave me again, and once again I don't know why. Tell me why you want to run from me, Jenna. Please," he said softly as he stood behind her. She set down the skirt she had in her hand. It was time to tell him the truth. She couldn't keep running from it. She knew that if she hadn't been drinking, she wouldn't be telling him, not like this anyway.

"You really want to know why I left you that night, Cody?" she said softly, crossing her arms against her chest.

"Yeah, I really want to know," he whispered, thinking about reaching a hand out to touch her back, but thought better of it; she might turn around and slap him.

"I left because it was the best thing for you."

"I...I don't understand Jenna. How can my wife, the girl I loved more than anything in the entire world, leaving me, be the best thing for me?"

"Because it forced your to live your dream. I did it for you. I knew you weren't going to take the chance and apply for wrestling school if you were still married to me," she said softly as the tears started rolling down her face. She had never wanted to really leave him; but she couldn't live her life knowing that he was miserable and was always going to wonder 'what if'.

"Jenna...you did that for me?"

She nodded, trying to hold down the sobs rising up in her. She turned around and looked at the expression on his face. "I'm sorry, Cody. I just did what I thought was right for you. I couldn't bear to see you so miserable anymore. I knew you had wanted to go pro like your dad more than anything. And I knew you wouldn't do it with me there. I'm sorry," she whispered as she sat down on the bed and laid her head in her hands, sobbing softly. She had held that secret in for so long and now it was finally out. "I loved you so much, Cody. I didn't want to leave you, I really didn't. I've been in love with you since I was 12. I just...I just wanted to see you happy and I knew that you going to the big time was what was going to make you happy."

Cody was shocked. Absolutely shocked. He had no idea what to say to her. He sat down next to her and put his arm around her, pulling her closer to him. "Honey, being with you was what made me happy. I knew we fought a lot and we weren't getting along too well, but it didn't matter to me. Just knowing that I could come home to you every night was what mattered to me."

Jenna lifted her head and looked in Cody's eyes. Her mom's words once again rang in her ears. 'Do what feels right.' "Cody, I love you. I still love you. I never stopped loving you. It killed me to have to leave, but you have to understand, I did what I thought was best for you. I'm so sorry that I hurt you when I left. Can you forgive me?" Tears were still shining in her eyes; she was laying it all on the line for him right now. Would he forgive her for leaving?


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter 20**

"Cody, I'm sorry...so very sorry..." Jenna was full out crying at this point. She had carried this secret around with her for almost eight years. She didn't want to leave him. Her head started spinning again and she leaned forward to put her head between her knees to try and get the spinning to stop; she would have tipped forward and on to the floor if Cody hadn't grabbed her arm.

"Jenna. I don't know what to say. This is such a shock to me. How do I know it's not just the whiskey talking right now and you're just making this up to make me feel bad because of what happened tonight with Layla?"

"I'm serious, Cody. I did what I thought was right for you. You and I both know that being a pro was your dream and we fought so much about you applying to Ohio to get started. I didn't want to be a wrestler's wife; I didn't want a husband who was on the road three hundred days a year. I wanted someone who was going to be home every night. But at the same time, I didn't want a husband who was going to resent me for holding him back. Do you understand?" Her brown eyes were pleading with him to believe her. "I never wanted to hurt you, I only wanted to see you happy."

"I don't even know what to say right now," he said softly. "I don't want you to leave tonight. I don't want you to leave in the morning. I want you back for good."

"Do you forgive me then? For leaving?"

"I know your heart was in the right place, Jen. I know it was. I just can't...I can't get over that you loved me that much to let me go so I could live my dream. And it has been a dream, everyday. I'm doing what I love. I just wish...I wish that you had been there along for the ride from the beginning." He turned to face her, taking her hand in his. "But it was a nightmare at the same time all these years after you left. I missed you everyday and I beat myself up everyday, not knowing where you were or what I did to make you leave me. I guess the question is now, are you still against being a wrestler's wife? Because that's what I am, Jen. You were right, this is my dream, this is my legacy, this is what I'm supposed to do with my life. I love this business. I love the thrill of it all. But I want you by my side. Do you think you could do that? Can we tear up those divorce papers and start over?"

She nodded. "I'm still really sorry, Cody..." she mumbled. Cody pulled her in for a hug, burying his face in her neck. They embraced for a few minutes before Cody broke away and took a deep breath. "We need to talk about what you were doing outside with Randy. I need to know why when I went outside to explain about what Layla was doing I found you and him making out. And don't tell me that he had pushed himself on you again, because from what I saw, you were into that kiss just as much as he was."

"I don't know..."

"Jenna, don't tell me that you didn't know what you were doing, because your arms were wrapped around him. What happened?" Cody felt that angry jealous feeling rising up in him again as he thought about them together. His heart had stopped when he caught them outside together. "Did he really push himself on you the other times as well, or was it something you did willingly?" Cody took his arm off of her and stood up, staring down at her, waiting for an explanation.

"Are you accusing me of lying to you, Cody?" she said softly, her voice with a hint of anger in it, as she raised her head to look at him.

"Well, after what I saw outside, yeah, maybe I am."

"I can't believe this. I just poured my heart out to you, and laid everything on the line to you, and now you're accusing me of lying to you about Randy? You are unbelievable, Cody."

"No, you know what's unbelievable, princess, is that you tell me over and over again how much you despise Randy Orton, but I finally catch you in the act, and you won't admit it. Even though I saw it with my own two eyes. Your arms were around his waist, Jen, you were kissing him back, Jen. Tell me, princess, why were you kissing him? Do you and Randy have something going on that I should know about?"

"Stop calling me princess."

"Tell me what's going on between you and Randy."

"Nothing!"

"It sure didn't look like nothing when I showed up! I bet if I hadn't shown up when I did, you would have laid down for him and let him have his way with you right in my backyard!"

"You are being ridiculous, Cody."

"I don't think I am, Jenna, I think you would have went further with him if I hadn't come outside. I think you were about two seconds from taking it further with him-"

"Stop! You're doing it again, Cody! I am not sleeping around on you, I never did and I never will, why can't you get that through your thick skull?" Jenna had jumped off the bed and had started to raise her voice. She never let him push her around, she always fought back.

"Really, Jen? Because it makes me wonder sometimes. It's the same old thing over and over again, you're dressed up like a cheap whore and all these guys drool over you, and then you play dumb and don't understand why-" Slap! Jenna had slapped him across the face.

"Don't call me a whore, Cody. This is the same thing over and over again. You get jealous over nothing and then you call me a whore. If I'm such a whore, then why do you stay married to me!"

"I am jealous! Look at you! That dress barely covers anything, all night all the guys have been staring at you! And I'm not supposed to get mad when my friends are eye humping you all night? Why don't you put some more clothes on, instead of prancing around like a little whore-"

"You are an asshole, Cody Runnels. A true asshole. This is the same thing over and over again. I am not a whore, I am not sleeping around on you, I never did when we lived in Atlanta either. I don't know why I put up with you accusing me-"

"Because it's true, Jenna, you know it is! You came home late every night after your shift at the bar, I know because I talked to Maggie about what time you got off of work. And you were always late. What was I supposed to think when you came crawling through the door at three in the morning? That you volunteered to work late? No, I thought you were off getting it on with some random guy! And now, and now, Jenna, it seems like every time I turn around, you're getting it on with Randy!"

Ted had been sitting downstairs in the living room on the couch, along with John Cena, and listening to Cody and Jenna argue back and forth. They were shouting so loud at each other that they could be heard clearly, even though Cody had shut the bedroom door behind him.

"Wow. They're really going at it, aren't they?" John said to Ted.

"Yeah, I just hope Cody doesn't push her too far. I heard a slap a few minutes ago, and I'm not sure if she slapped him or if he slapped her. He better hope that she slapped him, because if I find out he smacked her, I'm gonna kick his ass."

Back upstairs, Jenna was trying to defend her actions with Randy tonight. "It didn't mean anything, Cody. I don't even like him! It just happened-"

"Oh, let me guess, you tripped and he saved from you from falling but ended up with your mouth over his and your arms wrapped around him, and when tripped, he held on to the back of your dress and accidentally lifted it up so you wouldn't fall!" Cody was shouting at this point. He was still seeing red; he had caught one of his best friends and his wife together. He wasn't going to let this go anytime soon.

"Now, you're just being an asshole, Cody. Just like before. Just like every fight we've ever had with each other, you turn into a jealous asshole over nothing. I don't even know what I stay married to you!"

"Because I'm a jack ass and you love me, remember?" Cody took a low blow by quoting her from their very last fight in Atlanta. "And it's not even like we're married anymore, there's just a piece of paper that says we are. I'm trying to work it out with you, but all you want to do is dress like a whore and run around with Randy on me-" Cody was interrupted as he ducked out of the way of a flying shoe she had thrown at his head. "Once again, woman, what the hell is wrong with you? That could have hit me in the damn head!"

"That's the point, you asshole!" Jenna screamed back at him as she turned around to leave the room before she threw something heavier at him. Cody saw that she was planning on leaving the room without finishing this fight, he caught her by the waist and pulled her close to him. "You are not walking away from this, Jen." He leaned down and kissed her full on the mouth, taking control of her mouth. She allowed him to kiss her with more passion than she'd ever felt from him before. Her arms wrapped around his neck, pulling him closer to her. He backed them up towards the bed, he tripped over something and they landed on the bed, him on top of her, his hands started wandering over that skimpy brown dress. She broke the kiss, his mouth immediately went to her neck as she let out a soft moan of pleasure. Things heated up quickly as he shed his shirt and jeans, and the little brown dress was ripped from her body. Cody repositioned them on the bed as he claimed his wife again. The love they made was fueled by anger, passion, animalistic lust, and jealousy. Cody was letting Jenna know that she was the only one he wanted, and that he was the only one she could have. "Jenna," Cody breathed in her ear as things heated up, "I love you so much, please don't fight with me anymore. Be my wife again..."

They laid side by side after they were finished. Her head was resting on his chest, tracing small circles on his stomach. His hands were tangled in her hair. Both were sweaty and exhausted, enjoying the after glow of what they had just done. "Are we done fighting, Cody?" she asked softly.

"I think we are, Jen. I think we are," he said softly as he leaned down to kiss the top of her head. "Are we back together?"

"I think it would safe to assume that we are."

"No more Randy. Stay the hell away from him."

"If I catch Layla within five feet of you ,I'm going to throw her threw a window."

"Sounds like a deal. Love you, Jen."

"Love you too, Cody." she murmured as the whiskey, the fighting, and the long day finally overtook her and she drifted off to sleep in the arms of her husband.


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter 21**

_Day _6

Jenna woke up the next morning alone in Cody's bed with a pounding headache and a dry mouth. It hurt to even open her eyes. She made a silent promise to never drink again; a promise she knew she would never keep. She glanced at the clock on Cody's side of the bed. It was already 12:30. She groaned thinking about how she had spent almost half the day in bed. She threw the blanket off of her and realized that she had nothing on; blushing she grabbed one of Cody's t-shirts off of the floor and pulled it on. She stumbled into the bathroom, her head pounding with every step. When Jenna looked in the mirror, she wanted to cry; she looked like hell. Her make-up was smeared, her hair looked like it had been combed with a weed-whipper and her eyes were bloodshot. Upon closer inspection, she also noticed that her lips were swollen like she had been kissing all night, and there two small love bites on her neck. 'Damn it, Cody' she thought to herself as she stripped down and hopped into the shower, hoping the warm water would sooth her aching head and body.

Ten minutes later she dried off and pulled Cody's t-shirt and a pair of shorts on and headed downstairs to find Cody. Jenna had always found it irritating that Cody never slept past 8:00 no matter what they had done the night before; he was a morning person while she preferred to stay in bed as long as she possibly could. She could hear Cody talking to Ted as she slowly made her way down the stairs. She wandered into the kitchen and saw the two men sitting at the table talking about something. Ted saw her first and a cheesy smile broke out on his face. "Well, good morning, sunshine. How nice of you to grace us with your presence this morning," Ted said loudly, just to irk her, knowing full well that she probably had a killer headache. He never seen a woman kill a bottle of Jack Daniels the way she did last night.

"Hey, baby. How are you feeling," Cody asked softly, motioning for her to come sit on his lap.

"I feel like death. Make it better?" she mumbled as she sat on his lap and buried her face into his neck. Cody chuckled softly as he squeezed her shoulders. "Poor baby," he whispered. She sighed and slipped off his lap and went in search of coffee. The guys continued the conversation they were having before she came downstairs. To Jenna it sounded like they were planning on taking off for Tampa soon and were trying to figure out a way for Randy to not travel with them today. Jenna sat down next to Cody and laid her head on the table, willing the pounding to stop. Cody rubbed her back and kept talking to Ted. It was decided that Ted would call Randy and tell him that after last night, they weren't interested in traveling with him anymore. They knew he would be upset about it, but would eventually get over it.

Ted went into the living room to call Randy, leaving Jenna and Cody alone in the kitchen. "Are you going to be ready to leave for Tampa in a little bit?" he asked softly.

"Should be. When do you want to leave?"

"An hour or so. It's about an eight hour drive and I have a show tomorrow night. So we can take our time, but I'd like to get there before midnight."

"Then you have some time off?" she asked hopefully. She was itching to get back to Minnesota.

"Yep. About a week and a half. Have you thought about what you'd like to do during that time?"

"Go home."

Cody's face fell. "Oh." Jenna realized that that had come out wrong.

"Sorry, I meant to say that I'd like you to come to Minneapolis with me."

"Huh. All right. So...we should talk about last night..." he trailed off, not sure how to bring this up.

"Yeah..."

"You don't regret what we did last night, do you Jenna?"

"Of course not."

"I mean, I probably shouldn't have let it happen since you had been drinking, but...I just missed you so much, Jen..." he said softly as he brushed a piece of hair out of her face.

"I don't regret it, Cody. I would have stopped you if I hadn't wanted to do it."

"Good to know...:" he murmured as he kissed her softly on the lips. He was just about to deepen the kiss when Ted cleared his throat letting the couple know that he was back in the room. Jenna smiled a little at the frustrated look on her husband's face.

"Well, I called Randy, but it turns out that he's about a block or two away anyways, so he's going to be riding with us until Tampa; then he he would ride with Cena. He should be here in a few minutes," Ted said as he sat down at the table and tried not to laugh at the disgusted look on Jenna's face. "Gross. Can I stay here instead of going to Tampa?" she asked Cody, batting her brown eyes at him.

"I'm not 17 anymore, Jenna, I'm not going to fall for that look anymore," Cody said softly, nipping her on the neck.

"You used to...Remember the things I used to get away with when you did fall it?" she said with a sly smile, leaning in to kiss Cody softly on the ear.

"Um. You guys do remember that I'm still here, right?" Ted asked with a laugh. It was nice to see Jenna and Cody getting along so well after all the yelling that happened last night. "So...are you back together for sure now? Or..." he trailed off, not knowing how to word it, but he wanted to know if they were going to be ok.

"Yeah...I think we are..." Cody said as he kissed Jenna on the cheek. She had been smiling at her husband, but her smile faded as someone new came into the kitchen. Randy had shown up, ready to head out for Tampa.

"Shit, don't look so happy to see me, guys..." Randy growled as he limped over to get himself some coffee. He was in pain; Cody had done a number on him during his fit of rage over him kissing Jenna last night. He was close, so very close to getting her to leave with him last night. But then Cody had to come outside. More than anything, Randy had wanted to take the brunette back to a hotel last night and show her how a real man could treat her. It was true that Cody was his friend, but he was just a kid. Jenna needed a man. A real man; and Randy thought he was just that man. He wasn't sure what is was about her that made him keep crossing the line with his friend's wife; there was just something about her that he wanted. Cody had made it clear last night that he was supposed to stay away from her and Ted had just told him that they didn't want to travel with him anymore because of his advances on Jenna. He couldn't help himself, though.

Jenna excused herself to go upstairs and get dressed. Randy watched her walk out of the room, taking special notice of the way Cody's t-shirt hung down to her knees and how her hair curled a little bit when it was damp. He watched her until she was gone, then he looked up and right into the angry face of his supposed best friend. "What?"

"What do you mean 'what', Randy? Are you serious?" Cody said, taking a step towards Randy. "She's my wife, we're back together. Keep your hands and eyes off of her," he said quietly, his voice full of contempt for Randy right now.

"She kissed me first last night, Codes. I was just trying to stop her from killing Layla, which, who by the way, was the whole reason Jenna got pissed last night. Did you tell your wife why your girlfriend was on your lap, buddy?" Randy hissed at Cody.

"Layla isn't my girlfriend-"

"Don't lie to me, Cody. Layla told me last night that you're still seeing her on the side even though Jenna is back. Where did your wife think you were the night she supposedly got locked out of your room? Did you really tell her that you had fallen asleep?" The look on Cody's face told him that he hadn't told Jenna everything that he been up to since she'd been back. Randy smirked, enjoying having this little piece of knowledge. "You haven't told her, have you? You talked Jenna into coming on the road with you just so you could have both her and Layla. So...let's make sure I have this right; when Jenna doesn't give you any, you go to Layla for some, and then when Layla gets too annoying, you go home to Jenna. Is that right?"

Cody swallowed the lump in his throat. He knew he shouldn't be seeing Layla anymore. He tried to tell Layla that he was trying to get back together with his wife and that they had to break up; but Layla did things to him that made him forget he had a wife. And to be fair to himself, Jenna had been gone for a long time and had moved on with her life. He didn't really think that she was going to come on the road with him; and he really didn't think that the reason she left him was for his own good and that she was actually going to give in to him last night. He definitely had a mess on his hands.

"I did tell Layla that we needed to break up-"

""But you went back to her that night we were all out at the bar and Jenna had to stay in our room?" Ted spoke up, not wanting to believe that his friend had still been seeing Layla.

"Yeah, but-"

"How could you? You told me that you were committed to trying and working it out with your wife? Cody, still sleeping with Layla isn't 'working it out' with your wife,' Ted said softly.

"You two have no idea what I've been through in the past seven years. My high school girlfriend, who turned into my wife for eight months, left me and took off without an explanation. What was I supposed to do? Sit around and wait for her?" Cody said, trying not to raise his voice; he didn't want Jenna to overhear this conversation.

"That's what you told her you did, Cody! She thinks you've been sitting around pining over her since she left. I was there when you told her that and when you said that you and Layla had broken up!" Ted replied angrily. He couldn't believe his friend. "Are you going to tell her the truth? Are you going to tell her that you've been sleeping with Layla this past week?"

"Not yet-"

"You need to tell her, Cody. Or I will," Randy growled, "and then she'll see what you really think of her."

"Don't you dare tell her, Randy. It would kill her to hear it from you. I'll tell her."

"When?"

"Tonight."

"You better, or I'll do it. And just think, when she starts crying when she finds out that her husband is banging someone else on the side while he tells her that all he wants to do is get back together with her, I'll be there to comfort her," Randy said with a sick smile on his face.

The men sat in silence for a few minutes. Jenna wandered into the kitchen a few minutes later, with her suitcase trailing behind her, talking on her cell phone. "Ok, ok. Yeah, I should be back in a few days, can I deal with it then?" She nodded and said good-bye, turning the phone off.

"Are we ready to go?" she asked Cody as she kissed him on the cheek. Cody nodded as he caught Randy glaring at him. Cody had messed up big time and he had to figure out a way to fix it without hurting Jenna's feelings.


	22. Chapter 22

**A/N: Wow, thanks for the reviews and the 'favorites'. Much appreciated. My favorite review so far has been for chapter 20: From I'm Awesome Be Jealous: "I'm on Team Randy though :c"**

**I didn't know there was a Team Randy! Keep the reviews coming!**

**Chapter 22**

After a few more minutes of packing, they were ready to head to Tampa. Cody sat in the backseat with Jenna while Ted drove. Jenna swore that Cody was acting funny today; he seemed nervous to her. She brushed it off as just being excited about one more show and then being on off of work for almost two weeks. After the fight they had last night and the amazing making up session, Jenna felt like a huge weight had been lifted off of her shoulders. She felt like her and Cody were on their way to getting back together permanently; she was looking forward to him coming with her to Minneapolis tomorrow night.

They arrived in Tampa a little bit before 10:00 that night. Cody and Jenna said good night to Ted and Randy and headed to their room. "What do you want to do tonight, Cody?" Jenna asked as she sat on the bed and played with her phone. She had been texting Andrew back and forth for most of the day; letting him know that they had to have a talk when she got back home later this week. She knew it was going to be hard telling him the truth; that she had been married since she was 18 and had decided to get back together with her husband. She was sure he would be upset, but eventually would understand that she had to do what was right.

"I don't know...do you want to go out tonight?" he asked as he crawled on the bed and leaned in for a quick kiss on the lips. She smiled and pulled him closer, "Hmmm. I don't know, I might feel like staying in tonight," she whispered as she place a gentle kiss on his lips.

"Whatever you want to do, Jen...:" he trailed off, running his hands over her legs. She shivered at the feel of his hands on her, making him smile at the response he got. "We should probably talk about what's going to happen next. You still want to stay married, right?" he asked as he sat beside her, taking her hand in his.

"Sounds good to me."

"Wow. We just decided to stay married and you just say 'sounds good to me'? We're decided our life together, not ordering Chinese food, babe," Cody pretended to pout.

"You're so cute when you pout. But, yeah, I think I'd like to stay married to you. I mean, if you want to stay married to me that is?" she asked, suddenly nervous that he might change his mind.

"That's all I've ever wanted to do, darling..." he said softly, squeezing her hand. "Do you think you want to move back to Atlanta?"

"I don't know, I really like it in Minnesota. I can't just up and move either; I have a job I need to think about."

"But, I just bought my house in Atlanta, I don't want to sell it already. Besides, you rent in Minneapolis, so you would just have to break the lease."

"The townhouse isn't what I'm worried about, Cody; it's my job that I need to think about."

"You're a writer, what's the difference if you write in Minnesota or if you write in Georgia? It's all the same, right?"

Jenna sighed, she was starting to get frustrated with Cody already and they had just started this conversation. "The difference is that I spend a lot of time in the office now. I used to spend a lot of time on the road, but now I'm office based. I don't want to quit my job just so I can move to Atlanta."

"Just so you can move to Atlanta? Have you forgotten that your husband lives in Atlanta?" Cody replied, raising his voice slightly. He knew he needed to watch what he said before this simple decision turned into a full blown brawl again. "Jenna, I know you made a life for yourself up there, but if you want to be with me, Atlanta is our home. It always has been. Think about it, we already have a house, you know the area like the back of your hand, you know a lot of people that we went to school with in Marietta, and you'd get to see your parents whenever you wanted. Plus...I'm in Atlanta," he said as he lifted her hand to his mouth and kissed her fingers.

"Can I think about it?" she asked. He nodded and pulled her closer to him, resting her head on his chest. Cody turned the television on and the newly reunited couple fell into a comfortable silence watching a movie. After about an hour, Cody noticed that Jenna had fallen asleep on him. He gently moved her off of him and covered her up with a blanket. He watched her sleep for a few minutes before he decided that he had better go talk to Layla and make the break up final. He knew he should tell Jenna about what he had still been seeing Layla, but he didn't want to upset her, not after she had finally given in to him and agreed to get back together. He got off the bed and walked around to the other side, gently shaking her shoulder. "Jen, I'm gonna run down and talk to Ted, I'll be back soon, ok?" he whispered in her ear when she stirred a little. She nodded and rolled back over, going back to sleep.

Cody grabbed a room key and headed out. He felt bad lying to Jenna about where he was going, but he needed to see Layla. They had been seeing each other off and on for a few months, he was starting to actually like her, but then Jenna had showed up, changing everything. He knew the right thing to do was to break it off completely with Layla and be faithful to Jenna from now on. He just had to convince Layla of that. He had sent her a text message earlier tonight letting her know that he was coming to see her and that they needed to talk.

She must have been waiting for him, because he barely knocked on her room door before she opened it up and greeted him with a big smile. "Hey, Cody..." she said softly as she pulled him into the room, letting the robe she was wearing drop to the floor. Cody suddenly forgot his wife's name as he stared at what Layla was offering him. Tomorrow, he told himself, he would tell Layla tomorrow...

_Day 7_

Jenna woke up the next morning with Cody's arms wrapped around her waist. She smiled, thinking that she was definitely going to be able to get used to this again. Her smile got bigger as Cody stirred and kissed the back of her neck and tightened his grip on her waist. "Good morning..." he mumbled as he gave her another kiss on the neck and rolled out of bed and headed into the bathroom for a shower.

Jenna grabbed her laptop and turned it on. While she was waiting for it to boot up, she heard Cody's phone start to beep with a new message. Curious, she listened for the sound of the shower running before she picked it up. She was going to open the message and see who it was, but decided against it. It was probably just Ted or Randy. Jenna shuddered as she thought about Randy. He barely said a word to her on the ride to Tampa yesterday; that's how she liked it. There was just something about him that drove her crazy. She felt sick to her stomach thinking about how she had let him kiss her the other night and felt even sicker when she thought about she had kissed him back. She was certain that if he had suggested that they leave Cody's house at that moment, she probably would have left with him and done God knows what with him. Her laptop was fully booted up and she pushed those uneasy thoughts about Randy to the back of her mind.

Cody came out of the bathroom ten minutes later, dressed and ready to head downstairs for a workout. "You gonna be ok by yourself?" he asked as he played with her hair while she typed. She had gotten an email from Linda this morning about a story and she was furiously typing a reply. She had neglected her story for a few days and needed to catch up. "Yeah, I'll be fine. See you later," she mumbled not really paying attention to Cody. When Jenna got caught up in something, it was hard to tear her attention away from it. Cody sighed and grabbed a room key and his phone and headed towards the gym. He checked his phone while waiting for the elevator. There was a picture message from Layla. He found himself smiling as he looked at the picture she had sent him; it was one of her smiling while he kissed her neck. His smile quickly faded as he looked down at his left hand and saw that he was wearing his wedding band. 'I've got to stop this,' he chastised himself.

_Later that evening_

Jenna dressed with a little bit more care tonight be she headed to the arena with Cody for his match. She didn't want to dress too provocatively and risk him getting jealous and starting a fight with her again. She settled on a black knee length skirt, a pair of knee high black boots and a dark blue tank top. She pulled her brown hair up and secured it with a clip. Not too bad, she thought to herself.

Jenna knew something was wrong with Cody when she came out of the bathroom. He had been acting strange since yesterday when they left Atlanta, and had been quiet last night and most of the day today. She knew something was seriously bothering him when he didn't stare at her when she came out of the bathroom; he always did that, but not this time. She sighed, pushing the nagging feeling to the back of her mind and headed to the arena with her husband. They walked through the backstage area hand in hand. She was starting to get used to the busy activity that happened during the shows, but she didn't want to get caught up in it. She had no interest in the wrestling business except that it was what Cody loved doing. A few more days and I won't have to hang around these gross backstage arenas anymore, she thought to herself. They had almost made it to Cody's locker room when they ran into Jenna's two most favorite people in the world-Layla and Michelle. Jenna groaned inside, not wanting a confrontation with Cody's ex-girlfriend right now. She knew Layla was pissed as hell at her for the little altercation in Cody's living room the other night, and probably wouldn't hesitate to start throwing punches at her again.

"Hi Cody! Hey, we're all headed out to the bar after the show tonight to celebrate our time off, are you coming with?" Layla said excitedly, putting her hand on Cody's arm. Jenna held her breathe and counted to ten, waiting for Cody to pull away from Layla. Thankfully, he pushed her away. "Knock it off, Layla. I told you before, you can't be all touchy feely with me anymore, Jenna and I are back together. Permanently," he said tensely, glancing at Jenna.

"Oh, Jenna's here! I almost didn't recognize her without Randy's lips attached to her," Layla hissed at Jenna.

Jenna rolled her eyes at Layla and grabbed Cody's hand and started walking away. Jenna was looking straight ahead and didn't see Layla wink at Cody. She definitely didn't see Cody return the wink.

While Cody was out in the ring, Jenna busied herself with the story she was writing for work. She had it almost complete, but it was missing something and it was driving her crazy not knowing what it was. Cody, Ted and Randy came into the room, ecstatic that they had won their tag team match tonight. Jenna closed her laptop and tried to share in their excitement, it was hard for her, though, this was Cody's thing, not hers.

Before they had headed back into the locker room, Randy pulled Cody aside and asked if he had told Jenna yet about Layla. Cody thought quickly and decided to lie to Randy and tell him that he had told Jenna about everything and that she seemed fine with it. He would eventually break it off with Layla and tell Jenna the truth, but he couldn't bring himself to do it yet; he wanted to be sure that Jenna wasn't going to run off on him before he broke it off with Layla for good. He was fairly certain that Jenna was going to rip up the divorce papers and stay for good; he just needed to make sure first.

Randy looked like he believed him, and Cody let out a sigh of relief when Randy decided to drop the subject. The last thing Cody needed was for Randy to tell Jenna everything. It would kill her, she had placed so much trust in him this past week, much more than when they were actually living together. He loved Jenna, he really did. He'd been in love with her since high school and never wanted to hurt her, and he knew if she found out the truth from anyone other than him, she would be hurt and probably do a runner on him again.

Since it was their last night of work for almost two weeks, the guys were in the mood to party. "Do you want to go out tonight?" Cody asked. She shrugged, not really caring if they went out or stayed in, she was more excited to be headed to Minnesota tomorrow. Jenna and Cody drove back to the hotel so he could shower and change. After he was done with his shower, she went into the bathroom to change. She spent extra time on her hair, straightening it so it hung almost to her shoulders in shiny silk. Her make up was minimal; she sprayed her favorite perfume on and slid the little black dress over her head. She nodded at her reflection in the mirror, if this didn't put Cody in a better mood, nothing would.

Cody was just about to start pounding on the bathroom door, when it opened and Jenna came out looking like an angel. He had to remind himself to breathe. As she leaned up to give him a kiss on the cheek, he forgot Layla's name and what they had been doing lately altogether. This was who he belonged with. Jenna. His beautiful Jenna.

They headed down to the bar, stopping by Ted's room to let him know they were on their way out. Ted walked down to the lobby with them, every so often stealing a glance at Jenna in her little black dress. Cody was a lucky guy, he thought to himself.

Randy was already at the bar with some other members of the roster when the three of them finally showed up. Jenna sat across from Randy and Ted sat next to him as Cody went up to the bar to get Jenna and himself a drink. Jenna didn't notice that Layla was already sitting at the bar when they had gotten there.

The night wore on, everyone was having a good time. Jenna barely noticed that Cody had been disappearing quite a few times during the night, leaving her to drink alone with Randy. She looked around for Cody as he disappeared again, and sighed. This wasn't like him, he must be really excited to be done with work for a while, she thought to herself. She noticed that Randy was staring at her again. "What?" she said softly.

"Nothing."

"Then why are you staring at me?"

"Because you're pretty, duh," he smirked as she held back a giggle and blushed.

"I know."

"Wow. You're humble."

"That's what Cody tells me..." she rolled her eyes thinking about her husband and some of the fights that they had had over her appearance.

"Tell me, Jenna, why does he call you Princess when you fight?" Randy asked as he took another sip of his drink.

Jenna rolled her eyes. "Because he's a jack ass and he knows it pisses me off."

"Why does he call you that, though?" Randy was actually interested in knowing why. He had heard Cody call her that several times, and every time he did, she flew off the handle and started screaming louder.

"Because I was an only child and very spoiled. My parents gave me anything and everything that I wanted. I never had to work for anything, I was Homecoming Queen, and captain of the cheerleading squad and voted Prettiest in the class. So he calls me princess because when we got married, we ran off to Atlanta and lived on the worst apartment building in the whole city, and I complained day and night about it," Jenna said bitterly, remembering how she reacted whenever Cody called her princess.

"Huh. You sound like a princess," Randy smirked at her. She rolled her eyes at him and signaled the waitress for another drink. Cody still hadn't made it back to the table yet. Where was he? It amazed her that she and Randy were actually having a civil conversation. The waitress brought her another drink and two shots of whiskey. Jenna pushed one across the table to Randy, held it up, and drank it down; Randy did the same. At least they had one thing in common: whiskey.

"So, you don't seem upset tonight," he said casually.

"Why would I be upset? Everything is going really well," she replied, confused.

"Well, I thought you would have been a little bit more angry with Cody after he told you about him and Layla."

Silence. "What about him and Layla?"

"He didn't tell you?"

"No, he didn't. Randy, what was he supposed to tell me about him and Layla?" Jenna could feel her heart beating faster, something had been bothering Cody all day, but she never imagined that it would have been because of Layla.

"That he had still been seeing her even though he was trying to get back together with you," Randy said with a satisfied smile. 'I knew it. I knew Cody didn't tell her,' Randy thought to himself. "He told me that he had talked to you about it and that you seemed fine with it." He was getting a sick kick out of the distraught look on her face.

Jenna drank the rest of her drink down and signaled for another one. 'This couldn't be happening', she thought to herself, 'Cody wouldn't lie to me, he said that he wasn't seeing her anymore, he wouldn't lie to me, would he?'

"Randy, did you room with Ted last night?"

"Yep."

"Did Cody come down to talk to Ted around midnight or eleven thirty last night?" Jenna prayed that he would say yes, Cody had been there.

"Nope. I was there all night, and he never showed up."

Jenna felt the sting of tears starting to form in the back of her eyes; he had lied to her last night. "If he didn't come see you and Ted, who do you think he would have gone to see so late at night?" she asked softly, not wanting to hear the answer from Randy.

"You and I both know that answer to that, Jenna. He went to see Layla," Randy said softly, as he put his hand over hers, patting gently.


	23. Chapter 23

A/N: Really short chapter this morning. Had to get it out before I left for the day. Enjoy

Chapter 23

"How could he do that to me? After everything that he's told me over the last week?" Jenna said softly to herself.

"He's been lying to you, Jenna. Layla told me the other night when we were all at Cody's that he had still been seeing her even though he was telling you that he wanted to get back together with you," Randy replied, keeping his hand over hers. He almost felt bad having to be the one to tell her that her husband wasn't as perfect as he seemed. Almost.

"I don't understand. Why would he do this to me? I mean, I know I hurt him really bad after I just up and left him all those years ago, but he had me convinced that he never stopped loving me and wanted to try it again," she said as the tears that had been shining in her dark brown eyes threatened to fall any second.

"Why did you leave him? I never heard an explanation for that. If you had been my wife, you wouldn't have been able to run away from me for almost eight years. I would have tracked you down. Doesn't it make you wonder if he was really that distraught over you leaving if he didn't come find you and beg you to come home right away? Why would he have waited so long?" Randy knew he was hitting deep, trying to convince her that Cody wasn't all that he was trying to be; Cody wasn't perfect. Jenna deserved better than him.

"I didn't want him to find me. I wanted him to move on with his life."

"Looks like he did that, then you decided to show up and threw him for a loop. Why did you leave him in the first place?"

Jenna didn't say anything for a few minutes, she was still trying to process what Randy had just told her about her husband and Layla. "I left so he would have to live his dream and be a wrestler. I didn't want to be a wrestler's wife, and I knew he wouldn't take the chance and follow in his dad's footsteps if I was still there. I did this all for him. I probably should have filed for divorce right away, but for some reason, I didn't", she admitted quietly while she downed the rest of her drink.

"And now you decided that you would be ok being a wrestler's wife?"

"I guess I did. But now I don't know. He lied to me. I can't get over the fact that he lied to me," the tears starting falling down her face. She had to go find Cody and confront him about this. Randy saw the tears slowly streaming down her face, he felt bad for having to be the one to tell her. He moved from his seat and slid into the booth seat next to her.

Randy caught the waitress as she walked by and ordered two shots. When the shots came, he pushed one across the table to Jenna and they drank them down. Jenna knew she had to pace her drinking tonight or she would end up drunk again and cause a huge scene with Cody. Jenna heard her phone go off with a text message, she dug around in her purse until she found it; she was hoping it was Cody saying that he would be right back. He had been gone for awhile now and it was starting to bother her. It was a picture message from Ted with the message "I'm so sorry, Jenna" attached, she scrolled down the screen and started hyperventilating.

"What's the matter, Jenna?" Randy asked as he noticed the strange look on her face. She showed him her phone. It was a picture Ted had caught of Cody and Layla making out across the room; they were kissing and Cody had his hands all over her.

"I'm gonna kill her for touching my husband, and then kill him for lying to me," she said so softly that Randy wasn't even sure if she was saying anything at all. She pushed Randy out of the booth and took off to find Cody like a woman possessed. Randy smiled as he watched her walk away, this was all working out in his favor, he thought to himself. She would confront Cody, slap Layla, maybe pull her hair a little, slap Cody, tell her she was leaving him, then she would needed to be comforted in her time of need and despair. And Randy knew a guy who was really good at 'comforting' distressed women.

Jenna pushed her way through the crowd and her heart stopped when she saw them. He had her against the wall, kissing her neck while her eyes were closed in obvious pleasure. Her hands were running threw his hair. Jenna saw red. They never saw her coming, Jenna grabbed a beer bottle off the bar as she walked by, she threw it against the wall next to him, watching them jump away from each other as the bottle shattered next to them. "What the hell?" Cody yelled as he turned around and came face to face with his seething wife. "Oh, shit," he mumbled.

"Oh shit is right, Cody!" she said with her voice thick with hate for him right now. "What the hell are you doing?"

"Jen, let me explain-"

"I don't need you to explain anything, Cody. I can see what is going on; you lied to me! You've been lying to me about everything haven't you?" Jenna hadn't raised her voice yet. Cody almost wished she had, her speaking so softly was scarier than her yelling. It meant trouble for him.

"I told you that you weren't getting him back," Layla spat at her. Jenna turned her attention to the short dark haired woman. She took a step closer to her and raised her hand to slap her, but someone caught her arm before she could. She turned around and saw it was Randy. She glared and shrugged him off. That split second that Jenna was distracted was all Layla needed in order to raise her own hand and slap Jenna across the face, catching her off guard and knocking her backwards. The women scuffled for a few minutes before a security guard came over and broke it up. Layla had a handful of Jenna's hair and was pulling causing her to scream out in pain. Cody pulled Jenna away from Layla. When she realized that it was Cody whose hands were around her waist, she turned around and slapped him hard across the face and walked away, leaving him to follow her out of the club and outside.

"Jenna, please listen to me! I need to explain-"

"I don't need you to explain anything, Cody. Randy told me everything. You lied to me. I put all of my trust in you, I trusted that everything you told me was true. That you really wanted to try and work this out between us. I believed you. I let myself fall in love with you again, and then I find out that you've been lying to me. How could you do this to me, Cody? How could you do this to us?" she said tears started streaming down her face. Cody took a step towards her, she pushed him away. "Don't touch me," she growled.

"So you're going to believe everything that Randy tells you now? You just told me this morning how much you hate him, but now all of the sudden you're gonna believe everything that comes out of that snake's mouth?" Cody started to raise his voice. This was Randy's fault.

"At least he's honest with me, Cody! Something you obviously don't know anything about!" she raised her voice as well. This was going to end up with one of their famous arguments, yelling back and forth, taking cheap shots at each other. Only this time, she wasn't going to make up with him afterward; he had broken her trust.

"Oh so now I'm the bad guy and Randy is the greatest thing on two legs, is that how it is, princess?"

Jenna saw red. "Do not call me princess. I hate it when you call me that."

Cody took a step towards her. "That's that you are though, aren't you, Jenna? The little princess that always gets her way, no matter what. You decided you didn't want to be married to me anymore, so you took off. Got your way there. You decided that you wanted a divorce, you almost got your way there. You decided that you wanted me back, you got that. You always get what you want, princess. Well, guess what. Life isn't fair!"

"I know life isn't fair, I'm finding that out right now, Cody. How could you lie to me like this? You had me believing that you really wanted to give this another try."

"Yeah, and you had me believing that when we got married you were going to stay with me forever-"

"I did it for you! You wouldn't be who you are today if I hadn't left and forced you to take that chance-"

"That's what you keep saying, Jenna, but how could it have been the best thing for me if I didn't want you to leave in the first place! Damn it, Jenna. I loved you, really, really loved you. But you broke my heart when you left. I thought I could get over it, but I can't. How do I know you aren't going to do it again? You said yourself that you didn't want to be a wrestler's wife. But that's what I am."

"Are you saying you don't love me anymore?" she asked softly, wiping the tears away from her face.

"I can't love someone who broke my heart the way you did, Jenna. I'm sorry," he said as he walked away from her and headed back into the club, leaving her standing on the sidewalk by herself, tears streaming down her face.


	24. Chapter 24

**A/N: Here's the next one. Thanks for the reviews. It makes me so happy knowing that people are enjoying this story. Even though I'm the one writing the story and I think I know what's going to happen in the end, I still feel bad for Jenna. Keep reading and reviewing!**

**Chapter 24**

Randy saw Cody come back into the bar without Jenna. He went outside to see if she was still out there. She was leaning against the side of the building with her eyes closed and tears streaming down her face. She looked defeated and miserable. He walked over to her and leaned against the wall next to her.

"I'm sorry that I had to be the one to tell you about Cody and Layla," he lied softly. Truth was, he was glad they had had that fight; he was glad that she found out about him. She was vulnerable right now and he knew it; he just had to make the right moves and she would do what he wanted. "You wanna get a bottle of Jack and drink with me until you forget?" he asked softly. She opened her eyes and looked at him. Tears started falling down her face again as she nodded and let Randy put his arm around her waist and lead her down the street to a liquor store. Jenna knew the last thing she should be doing right now is drinking, especially with Randy. But she was hurt; Cody had said that he couldn't love her anymore because of she had hurt him when she left. It didn't matter how many times she had apologized for leaving him, the truth was that he was still hurt by her actions and now it was her turn to feel the same kind of hurt he had felt.

They walked in silence to the liquor store then caught a cab back to the hotel. Jenna didn't want to stay with Cody tonight. She was able to reserve a separate room for herself for the night and planned on flying home tomorrow. Without Cody. Randy came with her to Cody's room to get her suitcase. Randy was sitting in the chair watching her put her clothes in her suitcase. She stopped what she was doing and took out a manila envelope. It was the divorce papers; tears started rolling down her face again as she set the envelope on the desk and took of the wedding band she had been wearing for the past week. She walked back over to the bed, zipped up her suitcase and nodded to Randy that she was ready to go. She wanted to get out of there before Cody came back. While Randy was in the liquor store she noticed that she had three missed calls from Cody and one text message. She didn't bother opening the message or dialing in to her voicemail. She didn't want to hear what he had to say anymore.

Randy unlocked the door for her and she followed him inside. She dropped her suitcase by the door and took of her shoes and went to sit down on the edge of the bed while Randy locked the door behind her. He sat down next to her and handed her the bottle of whiskey. She mumbled a quick thank you before she unscrewed the cap and took a big drink, letting the warm familiar liquid burn down her throat. It wouldn't be long and she would forget all about Cody and how he had just thrown their newly reformed marriage away for Layla. She passed the bottle to Randy as she got off the bed and turned her laptop on, opening her music folder. If she was going to get fall down drunk, she might as well have some music to fill the awkward silence between her and Randy. She went back over to the bed and sat down next to Randy, reaching for the bottle of whiskey.

"_I'm not strong enough to stay away Can't run from you I'd just run back to you Like a moth I'm drawn into your flame You say my name but it's not the same You look into my eyes I'm stripped of my pride And my soul surrenders And you bring my heart to its knees"_

"Are you gonna talk to me?" he asked softly, placing his hand on her leg. He smiled when she didn't pull away or push his hand off. She took another drink and shrugged her shoulders.

"What do you want me to say? I just found out that my husband lied to me and doesn't love me anymore. I was _this_ close to giving up everything I built for myself up north and moving back down to Atlanta. I knew I messed up when I took off back then, but I apologized for it a million times and I thought he was being sincere when really he was just trying to hurt me," she said in a rush, some of her words were slurring together. The whiskey was doing its job.

"_And it's killing when you're away And I wanna leave And I wanna stay And I'm so confused So hard to choose between the pleasure and the pain And I know it's wrong And I know it's right And even if I tried to win the fight My heart would overrule my mind And I'm not strong enough to stay away"_

"He's not good enough for you, Jenna. Do you remember how you asked me if there was something wrong with you the other night?" She nodded. "And I said that there was nothing wrong with you, that you were perfect but Cody couldn't see it?" She nodded again, taking another drink. "I can see it. I can see how perfect you are even if he doesn't." His hand moved from her knee up to her thigh. "You are so beautiful, Jenna. Perfect even. He's a damn fool for not seeing it. You leaving him in the first place was the best thing that could have happened. For the both of you. He got to do what he always wanted to do, and you're free. You could have any man that you wanted. Think about that for a minute." Randy knew he was laying it on thick, he hoped she fell for it; not that he didn't mean it when he said she was beautiful, but he knew he had to say just the right words for her to fall for him. And poor Cody would just have to learn to deal with it. He started tracing small circles with his fingers on her thigh, causing her to shiver a little. He smiled at the reaction she got him from his touch.

"_I'm not strong enough to stay away What can I do I would die without you In your presence my heart knows no shame I'm not blame 'Cause you bring my heart to its knees"_

"This is some damn depressing music, girl. What else you got on there?" he asked as he took the bottle from her, taking a big drink. He looked through the folder that was open and found something a little bit better.

"_It's undeniable that we should be together It's unbelievable how I used to say that I'd fall never The basis is need to know if you don't know just how I feel Then let me show you now that I'm for real If all things in time, then time will reveal, yeah"_

Jenna put her head down when she heard the song Randy had decided to play. She started sobbing softly; this was one of the songs her and Cody used to love when they were dating. Randy sat down next to her and put his arm around her shoulders, pulling her closer to him. He let her cry for a while. He was starting to feel bad seeing her cry like this. He pushed that thought to the back of his mind and rubbed her back, letting her cry.

"_One, you're like a dream come true Two, just wanna be with you Three, girl, it's plain to see That you're the only one for me"_

He pulled away from her, lifting her chin with his fingers so she was looking at him. "I can help you forget him, Jenna..." he trailed off as he leaned in and placed his mouth over hers, feeling her immediately respond to his kiss. Jenna wrapped her arms around his neck pulling him closer to her. The kiss intensified as he shifted and pulled her on his lap. His hands got tangled in her hair, kissing her deeper. She pulled away to breathe, he took the opportunity to place his mouth on her neck and placing soft kisses and running his tongue over her skin. She responded by running her hands over his head pulling him closer to her neck. Randy shifted again and laid Jenna on her back, his hands wandering to the bottom of her little black dress. Randy smirked, watching her underneath him. He always got what he wanted...

_The next morning_

It felt like it was becoming a habit for Jenna to wake up every morning with a pounding headache and smelling like whiskey. For a few minutes she didn't know where she was; this room didn't look familiar at all. The arms that were wrapped around her waist squeezed tighter. They weren't Cody's arms; these arms were covered in tattoos. Jenna groaned silently, looking down and see that she had Randy's t-shirt on. What did she do last night? She moved his arms off of her and slowly got out of bed; she sat back down quickly when the room started spinning. Once the spinning stopped, she started walking towards the bathroom, noticing the empty bottle of whiskey on the desk and a couple of empty beer bottles. She finally stumbled into the bathroom and shut the door behind her, leaning against the door, trying to remember to breathe. She walked towards the sink to splash water on her face. She wanted to scream when she saw her reflection in the mirror. It didn't look like her at all; her hair was messed up, her lips were red and swollen, her brown eyes were bloodshot from crying, she counted four hickeys on her neck. Her stomach started turning as she slowly started to remember what she did with Randy last night and why they had been lying in bed together. She barely made it to the toilet before she was sick. When she was finished, she closed the lid and laid her head on it. She closed her eyes and thought back to what happened last night. Cody had been acting strange all day, she was drinking with Randy at the bar while Cody disappeared, Randy told her about Layla, she confronted Cody, Cody said he couldn't love her anymore, Randy showed up and bought her a bottle of whiskey, she left Cody the divorce papers again, her and Randy were drinking and listening to that damn song, Randy kissed her...then the details got fuzzy. 'Damn it all to hell; I'm such a damned fool,' she said to herself as he got up and turned the shower on.

Randy was awake. He heard Jenna in the bathroom being sick and then he didn't hear anything for a few minutes. He smiled as he heard the shower turn on. He stretched out on the bed, thinking about the fun he had last night with Jenna. He was right; she was a firecracker in bed. Now he had to decide what to do with her now that he got what he wanted; he broke her and Cody up, he got her in bed. Should he stick around and see what happens? He wouldn't mind keeping her around for a while; she amused him.

Meanwhile, in Cody's room, he was just starting to wake up. He had a pounding headache. Cody was having trouble remembering what happened last night as well. Until he caught a glimpse of the divorce papers and Jenna's wedding band on the desk. She must have stopped by the room after she left the bar to pick up her suitcase. He wondered where she was now. He had tried calling her a couple times last night to make sure she was ok, but she never picked up the phone or answered his text back. He felt horrible after he said those nasty words to her last night, but they were all true. She had hurt him so badly when she left and suffered every day she stayed away. He knew now that she was only thinking of him and his dreams when she did it, but it still hurt how she did it. He didn't want to hurt her, but all the years of feeling abandoned by her finally rose to the surface last night. Of course he still loved her; he was always going to love her. But he couldn't let himself get hurt like that again. When she left, she took his self-esteem and pride with her, he felt like less of man, thinking that she had left because he wasn't man enough to make her happy.

Cody crawled out of bed and walked over to the desk, picking up the divorce papers. She hadn't torn them up yet like they had talked about; her signature was still scrawled on the bottom. All he had to do was sign them and send them back to her and it would all be over. He set them back down and picked up her wedding band. He smiled thinking about the day he bought it for her. She was so excited that he had picked it out himself, it wasn't much, but it was everything he had. Thoughts of them dancing in the high school gym flashed through his mind. He pushed them away but they were quickly replaced by thoughts of the night she told him that she was having his baby. He pushed that thought away too, remembering how that ended. He felt a lump forming in his throat as a vision of them just a few days ago popped into his head; they were lying in his bed, her head on his chest, his fingers in her hair. The lump in his throat got larger as he realized what a big mistake he had made last night. And this time, he was pretty sure she wasn't going to forgive and forget.


	25. Chapter 25

**Chapter 25**

Jenna finished her shower and realized that she hadn't grabbed any clothes to change into. Sighing, she wrapped a towel around her and quietly opened the bathroom door, hoping and praying that Randy had left. Unfortunately for Jenna, Randy had no plans of leaving her this morning. There was something about her that he liked.

"Well. Good morning, Jenna. Are you feeling better?" Randy smirked at how tired she looked.

"Um, yeah I'm ok. Just need to get something to wear," she mumbled as she looked through her suitcase for a pair of jeans and a sweatshirt. She had her back to Randy, who watching her bend over and dig through her suitcase with great interest. He got off the bed and walked up behind her, placing his hands on her hips; she immediately stood straight up and stiffened against his touch. She closed her eyes and counted to ten, hoping he would back off. His hands started rubbing her hips, pushing himself closer to her. "Randy...we need to talk about what happened last night," she said softly. He placed his lips on her neck and kissed his way up to his ear, "Why...are you looking for round two?" he whispered, causing her to shiver as his hot breathe hit her ear.

"No. It was a mistake. We shouldn't have done that last night. I...I'm sorry, I didn't mean to lead you on," she was stuttering softly, completely unlike herself.

"I don't think it was a mistake. I think you finally realized what a loser Cody really is and realized that needed a real man. Lucky for you, I was available."

Jenna removed his hands from her hips and turned around to glare at him. "Lucky for me, you were available? Wow. You are conceited. I don't remember asking you to come back here with me last night, you just assumed I wanted you here-"

"Oh, you wanted me, Jenna. The way you were moaning last night, I'm surprised someone didn't knock on the door to tell us to keep it down," Randy growled.

"Please," she said grabbing her clothes and starting to walk away from Randy. He grabbed her by the waist and pulled her close to him again.

"You definitely said please last night. So polite," he murmured as his mouth crashed down over hers. She put her arms up to push him away, the hold on her waist got tighter. "You shouldn't fight me, Jenna. Just give in to what you're feeling right now.," Randy whispered in her ear before his lips traveled back down her neck. She brought her hand up and slapped him hard across the face. He backed away from her, holding his cheek with his hand. "What the hell was that for?" he growled at her.

"That's how I'm feeling about you, Randy. You should leave," she said softly, pointing to the door. Randy grabbed his shoes and shook his head at her and started walking out the door. He started to open the door, but stopped, "You should be thanking me for showing you what Cody really is last night. He was never going to tell you, you know," he said as he walked out and let the door shut behind him.

Jenna hurried over to the door and put the dead bolt on before she breathed a sigh of relief. He was gone. She had made a huge mistake last night. Hopefully after she went home today, she would never see him again. There would be no reason to see Randy; she only met him because of Cody. Her stomach turned when she thought of Cody. She couldn't get over that he had lied to her, he had promised her that he wasn't going to see Layla anymore and that she hadn't meant anything to him. Liar.

She quickly got dressed and turned on her laptop. She found a flight that was leaving Tampa for Minneapolis in a few hours. She got the last ticket and packed the rest of her belongings up. She was headed home. A few days ago when she thought about going home today, she was sure that Cody was going to be going with her. She wiped some tears away when she thought about how their fragile relationship had gone from wonderful to horrible in a few short days.

_A few days later_

Jenna settled back into routine after taking two days off after she landed in Minneapolis. It had only been a week and a half since she left Indianapolis, but it felt like months had passed. One of the first things she did when she got home was call Andrew and told him everything—that she had been married since she was 18, left him, ran away to Minnesota, hid from her husband for almost eight years, tried to divorce him, failed at getting him to sign the divorce papers, made up and got back together with him, found out he was lying to her, slept with one of his best friends and then came home. It amazed her that that had all happened within a week and a half. It was unreal. Andrew was silent for a few minutes before he asked if she was still filing for divorce from Cody.

"I signed the papers and left them in his hotel room. But I don't know if he's going to actually sign them. If he doesn't, I guess I'm going to hire a lawyer and let them deal with it." Jenna left out the part where she didn't want to divorce Cody, she wanted him back.

"I see. Jenna, I really don't know what to say right now. I appreciate your honesty, I wish you would have told me right away when we started seeing each other. You'll understand that I think it would be a good idea if we see other people, right?"

"Yes, I understand." They said their good-byes and hung up. Jenna laid down on the couch thinking about how Andrew would be the third man in the last few days that she pissed off. She hadn't spoken to him since that night at the club when she found him and Layla together. Then again, she still hadn't listened to his voicemails from the other night either. Seeing that she had nothing else to do, she picked up her phone. He had called three times the night she found out about Layla and once a day since she left for home.

"_Hey, it's me. Um. I know you're probably really mad at me right now and don't want to talk to me, but I think we need to talk later. I know this looks bad, but I can explain, honey. Ok. Well. Call me later, I guess. Bye."_

To Jenna it looked like Cody had lied to her and had been making out with Layla. How could it look like something else? He left a message a few hours after the first one.

"_Hey, it's me again. Jenna, why won't you pick up the phone? We need to talk. I don't want to throw this all away. We worked really hard to get where we were. I made a mistake and I'm sorry. Please call me back."_

He must have had more to drink after she left; his words had started to slur on that message.

"_Jen, I just wanted to let you know that I feel really bad about what happened tonight. Where are you? I came back to the room and all I found was your wedding ring. Did you give up on me again? I know I said some really mean things to you, and I called you princess and you're mad at me. But I'm sorry! I didn't mean it, I didn't mean to say that I couldn't love you. I do love you. A lot. Layla doesn't mean anything to me, she's just a...well I don't even know what she is anymore. Call me please?"_

After listening to the third message, she was certain that he was fall down drunk. She could hardly understand some of his words, they were all slurred together, and he was contradicting himself. Cody had said some very hurtful things to her that night. He broke Jenna's heart in two when he said that he couldn't love someone who could hurt him like that, but now he's turning around and saying that he hadn't meant it. It still didn't change the fact that it had still hurt. Jenna was confused; was he mad at her or was she mad at him? This was all very unsettling. She closed her eyes and tried to remember what her life had been like before Cody came back into it.

She was about to listen to the next message when her phone beeped letting her know there was an incoming call. She looked at the caller id and was surprised. It was Ted. She debated for a few seconds of whether or not answer it. She took a deep breath.

"Hello?"

"Jenna? Hey, it's Ted. How are you doing?"

"I'm all right. This is a surprise, Ted."

"Yeah, I know. Say, I just wanted to call and see how you were doing. I saw what happened between you and Cody and Layla that night."

"I'm all right, I guess. I got home a few days ago."

"Glad to hear you made it home ok. Um. The other reason I was calling was to let you know that Cody wants to know what you want him to do with the stuff you left at his house."

Jenna didn't say anything for a few seconds, Ted was afraid she had hung up on him. "Why doesn't he call me himself?" she said slowly, trying to keep the scream of frustration rising up in her down.

"He said you wouldn't talk to him, he called you a couple of times, I guess, and you won't answer your phone."

"Can you blame me, Ted, for not wanting to talk to him?"

"No, I don't blame you at all. I just found a few days before you did that he was still seeing Layla-"

"You knew too? Damn it. So both you and Randy knew about this, but didn't tell me?"

"Cody said he was going to talk to you right away about it!"

"Well, he didn't."

"I'm sorry, Jenna. He had told us that he had already talked to you about it the night we all went out to the club. When I saw him and Layla together, I knew he had lied to us," Ted said softly.

"It's fine. So are him and Layla back together then?" Jenna asked with contempt in her voice. She didn't really want to know the answer, but knew she had to know or it would drive her crazy.

"Actually, they aren't. They had a huge fight yesterday and she stormed off saying she never wanted to see him again."

"Is that why he's been calling me every day? To say that he's done with Layla now and that I could have him back?" she snapped.

"Jenna, it's not like that at all. Cody explained everything to me; from the beginning, he told me things that you probably didn't even know."

"Like what?"

"Well, he was scared when you came back, he was afraid that you came back just to hurt him again. I guess things had moved too fast for him, and he got confused. Layla had been chasing him around for the longest time and he finally gave in."

"Why did he tell me that he wasn't seeing her anymore when he really was?"

"It sounds to me, like he needed a back up in case you did run off on him again. You broke his heart, Jenna, when you left him. He wanted to love you, but he was scared. That's why he kept Layla around, because he knew she wasn't going to run off on him. Do you understand?"

"I don't understand it at all, Ted. He told me he never stopped loving me, that all he wanted to do was get back together with me and try it again, then all of the sudden I find out that he lied to me. That's why I'm so upset; he lied to me."

"He feels really really bad about that. He didn't mean to hurt you."

"Too late. Do you know if he is going to sign the divorce papers?"

Ted didn't say anything for a few seconds. "Ted, is he going to sign them?"

"I don't know..."

"You do know; tell me."

"He said no."

Jenna sighed in frustration. "Why isn't he signing them?"

"You'll have to ask him that yourself."

"Ok, I will."

"I should get going. Take care of yourself up there. I hope things turn out all right for you and Cody, even if you decide to go through with the divorce. Can I tell you something before I let you go?"

"Yeah..."

"I think you should give him another chance. He didn't mean to hurt you."

"Good bye, Ted." Jenna hung up and threw her phone across the room. She was so confused; she had no idea what to believe anymore. Nothing was making any sense whatsoever. Damn it all to hell, what was she going to do now?


	26. Chapter 26

**Chapter 26**

A few weeks went by and both Cody and Jenna fell back into their familiar routines. Cody traveled every week, making it home to Atlanta once or twice a week. Jenna went back to work and threw herself into writing. She thought about Cody at least once a day; and it was usually when she was trying to fall asleep that he would pop into her mind. There had been no contact between them; Ted had called several more times, relaying messages from Cody about what to do with her belongings. She finally told him to tell Cody to bring it to her mother's house in Marietta, and Alice would take care of it from there. Jenna checked her mail every day when she got home from work; there were still no signed divorce papers from Cody. She was frustrated and didn't know what to do about it. She knew for a fact that she didn't want to involve a lawyer because this was something that her and her estranged husband should be able to take care of themselves.

Randy called Jenna at least every other day, asking to see her again. She refused and kept saying that what they had done together was a mistake and was best left to not talk about it again and not see each other anymore. She never really liked him in the first place; he had just been in the right place at the right time. He was persistent though, hoping that eventually she would grow frustrated enough with him and agreeing to see him again just so he would stop calling.

Cody still hadn't called her himself. He was making Ted call her. He was also refusing to sign the papers again; he had to figure out a way to make things right with Jenna and figure out a way for her to forgive him. He knew what he did was horrible. He had lied to the woman he loved and had hurt her in ways that he shouldn't have. He had been terrified that she was going to take off on him again, and he followed his natural instincts and tried to hurt her back. He succeeded.

Ted and Cody were sitting at Cody's house in Atlanta, enjoying a rare weekend off and catching up with each other. They were sitting in the backyard, beers in hand, enjoying the sunshine. Ted had been playing messenger between his friend and his wayward wife. "So, I talked to Jenna last night again," Ted said quietly.

"What did she say?"

"She said that you could just drop her stuff off at her mother's and she would figure it out from there. Because she is refusing to come to Atlanta."

"Huh. Her parents don't like me. I took their princess away from them, they're still pretty bitter about that," Cody said with a smirk. He had gotten along pretty well with Alice, but Jim hated him. Cody remembered how Jim used to glare at him from his chair in the kitchen when he would pick Jenna up for their dates.

Ted sighed, "Man, why do you call her princess? I get the feeling it's not a nickname that she really likes to be called. In fact, every time I've heard you call her princess, she freaks out and usually ends up slapping you."

"Oh. Well, Jenna is an only child and she was very spoiled. I mean, anything that girl wanted, all she had to do was ask daddy and he would give it to her, no matter what it was. She wanted a car when she turned 16, her daddy bought her a brand new one. She wanted to go Mexico for spring break when we were seniors, daddy bought the plane ticket and gave her a credit card. She was so used to getting what she wanted, when she wanted, that I call her the princess."

"So why does she get mad when you call her that? It sounds like that's what she was."

Cody laughed softly, "Because when we got married and moved to Atlanta, the only place we could afford, should have been condemned. You should have seen the look on her face when I showed her the building for the first time. It obviously wasn't what she was used to. But she dealt with it, and tried to make it a home. I guess, when she stuck it out those eight months we were married, that's how I knew how much she loved me. She could have said hell no and left me right there, but she at least tried it for a while. She'd get so mad at me when I called her princess when we argued back and forth. It was a reminder for her about how life wasn't fair."

The men sat in silence for a few minutes before Ted finally got the courage to ask Cody something. "Cody, I gotta know, why won't you sign those divorce papers? It sounds like you don't want to be married to her anymore; I mean, you got me calling her up and relaying messages. Why not just sign them, send them back and move on with your life?"

"Because I can't let her go, Ted. I can't. I've been in love with this girl practically my entire life, we made some mistakes, we both did. But I can't let her go, I gotta figure out a way to get her back." Cody said softly as he looked down at his wedding band. He still hadn't taken his off yet. It was a daily reminder of how bad he messed up and that he had to somehow convince Jenna to take him back. Again. And this time without messing it up.

"I think you might have to buddy, I don't think she wants you back anymore..." Ted trailed off, reaching over to pat his friend on the arm.

"She has to take me back. There's a reason she came back into my life a few weeks ago, there's a reason we ended up getting back together until I fucked it all up. She still loves me, I know she does."

_Three weeks later—Minneapolis_

Jenna was muddling through her life; going to work every day and coming straight home. She had no desire to do any of the things she used to enjoy doing, she was depressed. It was 8:00 on a Friday night and she was already in her pajamas sitting on the couch, staring into space. A few friends from work had tried to convince her to go out with them tonight, she feigned a headache, sent her regrets and instead settled in with a drink and got lost in her thoughts.

She picked up the photo album she had dragged out a few days ago. It was one of the few things she had taken with her when she left Atlanta at 18. She absentmindedly flipped through the pages until she came across a picture of her and Cody at their homecoming dance senior year. As much as she willed it not to happen, tears still sprang to her eyes. The look of love and adoration on Cody's face as she was crowned homecoming queen was too much. She let the tears stream down her face as she gazed at the picture and took another drink. Her phone started ringing next to her, tearing her attention away from happier times. Without looking at the caller id, she answered the call.

"Hello."

"Hey."

"Hi."

"What are you doing?"

"Nothing...who is this?" Jenna didn't recognize the voice.

"Randy."

She groaned silently and rolled her eyes. Of course he would call tonight. "Oh. Hey."

"Hey."

Awkward silence. "So, did you call me just to say hey or what?" she said, trying not to sound aggravated, but it was evident in her voice.

"No, I called because I'm trying to figure out where you live."

"Why?"

"Because we're in town for the weekend and I thought I'd take you out and buy you a drink."

"Oh."

Another awkward silence. "And I know you're not going to ask me, but, yeah, Cody is in town tonight too. I haven't talked to him a few weeks, he seems to be mad at me for something."

"I wonder why."

"Did you just roll your eyes at me?" Randy asked, trying to hold back a laugh as he pictured her pretty brown eyes rolling at him.

She giggled. "No."

"Liar."

"Hey now."

"So, what do you say? You gonna tell me where you live so I can come pick you up?"

"No."

Randy sighed in frustration. "You are a difficult woman, ya know that?"

"Thanks."

"It wasn't a compliment."

"I take what I can get," she said laughing softly.

"Seriously, though, I'm in town until Tuesday morning, do you want to get together tonight? I promise to behave."

"Why do I doubt that?"

"I promise. I won't get you fall down drunk and give you the best sex of your life tonight."

"Wow, in that case, no."

"Come on, Jenna, I'm in town, I want to see you, I promise to behave."

Jenna was getting tiresome of this conversation, she knew she should say no again and just hang up, but what else was she going to do tonight? "Fine."

"What?"

"Fine. I'll go out for one drink with you."

"Cool. So. Where do you live?"

"St. Louis Park off of 169."

"No idea where that is, darling."

She sighed. "Why don't you just meet me down at Jack's? It's a little place not far from here."

"Ok. How long do you need to get ready?"

"An hour."

"Damn, woman," he said laughing.

"Hey now. I was already in my pajamas getting ready for another exciting night of sitting on my couch and being depressed. I need time to get ready."

"Fine. See you in an hour."

"Bye." She hung up and tossed the phone on the coffee table. She couldn't believe that she just agreed to go out with Randy for drink. Sighing, she got up and headed to the bathroom to make herself look like she hadn't been crying for the past month.

Meanwhile, Randy hung up the phone and smiled to himself. He couldn't believe that she had actually agreed to go out with him tonight. He almost felt bad that he was going out with his friend's wife tonight. Cody hadn't spoken to him in almost three weeks after he found out that Randy had slept with Jenna. He heard from Ted that they were still technically married and that Cody was still refusing to sign the papers. It didn't bother Randy at all that Cody and Jenna were still legally married, he had gotten what he wanted from Jenna that night. And he intended to get what he wanted again tonight from her.

Cody and Ted had just checked into their hotel room in Minneapolis. Cody had high hopes that he would run into Jenna this weekend while he was in town. He tried calling her cell phone, but lost his courage and hung up before it rang. "Hey, Ted. Can you do me a favor?" Cody asked as he put his suitcase away.

"Sure. What's up?"

"Will you call Jenna and see what she's doing tonight?" he asked nervously, knowing that his friend would do anything for him, but there had to be a limit to what he would actually do.

Ted sighed, "I don't want to, but because you're my best friend, all right."

Ted dialed Jenna's number and waited for her to pick up.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Jenna, it's Ted. How are you."

Silence. "Good, how are you?"

"Good, good. Say, we're in town this weekend for a show on Monday night and we were wondering what you were doing tonight."

She had just hung up with Randy and was in the process of getting ready to meet him. "Who is we?"

"Me and Cody."

"I see."

Silence. "So, are you doing anything tonight? I'd like to see you, haven't seen you for a while..."

"Actually, someone just called me and I made plans to go out with him."

"Oh, who was that?"

"Randy."

Silence. "All right. Um. Can I call you back in a few minutes?" Ted asked while looking nervously at Cody.

"Sure."

"Bye."

"Well, what did she say?" Cody asked.

"Here's the thing, buddy, she already has plans with someone tonight and you're not going to like who it is.

"Who is it?"

"Randy."

"That son of a bitch..." was all Cody could say.


	27. Chapter 27

A/N: Short chapter, wanted to get it out before I left for the day. Thanks for all of the reviews. Much appreciated!

**Chapter 27**

Cody was pacing around the small hotel room, mumbling to himself as Ted watched, phone still in hand, not sure what to do right now. He knew his best friend was hurting right now and he didn't blame him. Cody found out that Randy had slept with his wife the night they broke up at the club and had been livid. Punches had been thrown and blood had shed. Because it happened at the arena, they were both warned that they would be suspended without pay if it happened again.

"How could she do this? She doesn't even like him, why is she going out with him tonight?" Cody was mumbling to himself as he paced back and forth.

"Cody, calm down and stop pacing. You're driving me nuts," Ted said softly as he sat down in a chair and watched his friend freak out.

"I can't calm down, Ted. I just found out that Randy is taking my wife out tonight and you and I both know damn well what's on Randy's mind tonight. How could she do this to me?"

"Think about what you've put her through in the last month or so. Can you blame her for trying to get back at you?"

"Is she trying to get back at me or does she really like him? I have no idea! She won't talk to me!"

"That's not true. You won't talk to her, you have me calling her all the time. Why haven't you called her yourself? You claim to want to get back together with her so bad, but yet you won't man up and talk to her?"

Cody stopped pacing and thought about what his friend just said. "I do love her, Ted. That's the thing, I never stopped loving her; I can't stop loving her. She's been my whole world since we were 16 years old. I know I said some really mean things to her, but I never stopped loving her. The whole thing with Layla was a mistake and I know deep down that Jenna knows it was a mistake and that she wants to forgive me; she's always forgiven me. No matter what's happened."

"You hurt her pretty bad, Cody. Maybe she can't forgive you after this one."

Cody looked down at his wedding band and over at his suitcase which still had the divorce papers in it. "She had to, she just has to. I gotta find her tonight. Did she say where she was going with him?"

"I didn't ask. I'm not calling her back, Cody. This is something that you have to do. It's time to be a man and stop being afraid. Call your wife," Ted said as he held out his phone for Cody to take.

Cody took the phone and took a deep breath before he hit redial on the phone and waited for Jenna to pick up.

"Hello."

"Jenna."

Silence. "Ted?"

"Cody."

Silence. "Please don't hang up, Jen."

"Why?" she asked softly, her heart beating a million times faster now that she was talking to Cody.

"Because we need to talk."

"We needed to talk a long time ago, Cody. Why are you calling now?"

"I'm in town and I want to see you tonight."

"I have plans."

"I know. Ted told me. Why are you going out with Randy tonight," he asked softly. Ted decided to quietly slip out of the room to give Cody some privacy.

"He called and asked."

"Is that why you slept with him? Because he asked?" Cody replied with a hit of venom in voice.

Jenna sighed. "Is that why you called, Cody? To bring that up?"

"No."

"Then why did you call?"

"I want to see you tonight."

"I don't want to see you Cody unless you have signed divorce papers for me." Randy was sitting on the other side of Jenna, listening with great interest to Jenna's half of the conversation.

"I'm not signing them, Jenna."

"Cody, this is getting real old real fast. Why won't you sign them?"

"Because I still love you."

"Well, you have a funny way of showing it."

"I'm sorry, Jen. I'm really sorry," he said softly.

Jenna felt her heart rate pick up again. "Why did you do it? Why did you lie to me?"

"I was scared."

"Why?"

Silence. "Can I please see you tonight?"

Jenna looked over at Randy who was watching her with an amused look on his face, he held his hand out for the phone. "Cody. She doesn't want to see you tonight."

"Randy. What the hell are you doing? That's my wife-"

"If she was your wife, Cody, you would be here with her tonight and not me."

"You son of a bitch, I swear, if you-"

"If I what, Cody? Show her a good time, make her feel pretty, tell her the truth? You'll do what? You won't do anything. You're just a scared little boy that had the best thing going for you, and you threw it all away."

Silence. "Stay away from my wife, Randy."

"Too late," Randy said as he hung up the phone and set it back on the table. Jenna was looking down at the table, thinking about what Cody had said. He was scared. Scared of what?

"You ok?" Randy asked as he shifted closer to her, putting his arm over the back of the booth.

She shook her head. "Do you want to get out of here?" he asked as his fingers lightly brushed against her shoulder, making her shiver at the feel of his touch. She nodded. Randy smiled as he moved out of the booth and held his hand out for her to take.

They drove back to her townhouse, stopping along the way to pick up a bottle of Jack Daniels for them to share tonight. Jenna unlocked the front door and Randy followed her in, locking the door behind him. Randy followed her into the living room, sitting down on the sofa she pointed to before heading off to the kitchen to grab some glasses.

She came back out into the living room with two glasses full of ice and a bottle of Coke. Randy opened the bottle of whiskey and poured them each a drink. "To a good night," he said softly as he raised his glass to her. She nodded and took a big drink, the familiar liquid burning down her throat. She knew she shouldn't be drinking like this again; especially with Randy. Regrettably things usually happened when she was depressed and started drinking. She sat back on the couch with Randy. He put his arm around her and they drank in silence for a few minutes before he got up and walked across the room to turn the stereo on. The awkward silence wasn't helping the tense situation. He sat back down next to her, setting his drink down on the coffee table and taking hers from her and setting it down as well. He turned to her, one hand on her knee, the other hand gently taking her chin and moving her face towards him. "What are you thinking about," he asked softly.

She didn't say anything for a few seconds, instead she looked into his icy blue eyes to try and see what his intentions were tonight. "Lots of things," she whispered.

"Like what?"

"Like why you keep calling me."

Randy chuckled, "There's something about you that I like, Jenna. Don't know what it is, but I like it. And I think you like it too," he whispered as he leaned in to kiss her mouth, she moved her face at the last second and all he got was her cheek. "Hey now..." he trailed off.

She moved away from him. "I'm not sure I can do this again, Randy. It was a huge mistake the first time we did it, and I don't know if I really want to go through all of that again."

"That's the thing about mistakes, Jenna. We need them in order to learn from them. And I think, that what you learned from what you call a mistake, the last time we were together, is that you do like me. That you don't need or want Cody. He doesn't deserve you, you know that right?"

Jenna didn't know what to think about that. Was Randy trying to sweet talk her into bed or was he being honest again? "I don't know. I'm still married until he signs the papers."

"Those papers don't matter, Jenna, and you should know that. He hasn't been your husband for a very long time. You need a real man, a man who is going to chase after you if you leave in the middle of the night. A man who isn't afraid that you're going to hurt him. A man who isn't going to lie to you and sleep with someone. A man like...hmmmm...me," he said softly, he had moved closer with every sentence and was now leaning against her, trying to shift his weight so her back would be laying down. He was just about to kiss her when the doorbell rang. She silently thanked whoever was ringing the doorbell for interrupting this moment. She pushed Randy off of her and walked over to the door, smoothing out her skirt.

She opened the door and got the shock of her life. Her husband was standing there, his blue eyes burning with anger. "Cody, what are you doing here?"

"Something I should have done a long time ago, Jenna," he said as he grabbed her by the shoulders, pulling her closer to him and placing his mouth on hers. The kiss was like nothing she had ever felt from him before, full of passion and silently saying things that he couldn't bring himself to say out loud. The kiss said, "I'm sorry, baby, please forgive me." The kiss intensified as Cody noticed someone walking up behind Jenna. Cody broke the kiss, gently pushed Jenna aside. "I told you to stay away from my wife, Randy..."


	28. Chapter 28

More drama. More heartache. Surprising twist at the end of this one.

Chapter 28

Cody stepped into the room, while Jenna watched helplessly as her husband and Cody slowly circled each other; each man's eyes burning with contempt for each other. "Cody...stop," Jenna said quietly. Cody looked over at her to respond, it was that split second that Cody looked away that Randy saw his opportunity and struck, knocking Cody to the ground while Jenna screamed. The men wrestled with each other on the floor for a few seconds before Randy got to this feet first and pulled Cody up by his shirt. Randy's arm went back and his fist connected with Cody's chin, knocking him backwards and landing on Jenna's kitchen table. Jenna screamed again as she rushed forward to see if Cody was ok.

Randy grabbed her arm before she could get to Cody. "Jenna. Stop. You need to think about what you're doing. You and I both know that you don't want to be with him anymore. You need a man who isn't going to lie to you and-" Jenna cut him off by slapping him across the face as hard as she could. Leaving Randy to rub his stinging face, she went over to Cody who was laying amidst the broken table with blood running down his forehead.

"Oh, my God, Cody are you ok?" He nodded as she helped him back up.

Cody nodded as he pushed Jenna away and charged at Randy, knocking the larger man backwards and onto Jenna's coffee table, breaking it in the process. Jenna screamed again as she watched the two men wrestle each other again. She didn't know what to do; Ted was usually with Cody, where was he tonight? She found her phone as she watched the two men throw punches at each other and destroy her living room. She dialed Ted's number. "Where are you?" she said quickly when he picked up.

"In the parking lot, waiting for Cody, why?"

"Get in here. Now." She hung up and went into the living room, trying to pull Cody off of Randy. Randy pulled his arm back was going to take a swing at Cody, when suddenly Cody was moved out of the way and Jenna was in his place. Randy couldn't stop his fist from flying once he had moved it forward. He had hit Jenna in the face instead of Cody. She let out of a scream of pain as she fell to the ground.

Cody watched his wife fall to the ground in pain and tears started falling down her face. Cody saw red. He charged at Randy, his shoulder nailing Randy in the stomach, sending him to the ground again. Ted had shown up just in time to see Jenna on the floor, crying and holding her cheek, Randy laying on the floor with Cody on top of him, punching him in the face. Ted ran over and pulled Cody off of Randy and pointed at Jenna. Cody's face turned white as he realized that his wife was hurt. Ted pulled Randy up by his shirt and yelled, "What the hell are you doing, Randy?"

"You want some of me too, Teddy?" Randy shouted back, pushing Ted, daring him to take a swing at him. Ted's jaw clenched as he tried to restrain himself. More than anything, he wanted to beat the living hell out of Randy for everything he had done to Cody lately. He looked over at Cody and Jenna. She was sitting in a kitchen chair, while he was stroking her cheek and speaking softly to her. "You better get some ice on that, Cody," he said while giving Randy once last glare before walking over to see if she was ok.

Randy walked over to Jenna, Cody immediately stood up, blocking his view from her. "Jenna, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hit you. It was an accident; I was aiming for Cody," Randy said softly. Jenna looked up at him with her big brown eyes full of tears and just nodded, acknowledging that he didn't mean to hit her. "I think you should go, Randy..." she whispered. Normally Randy wouldn't leave until he was ready, but the tension in the room told him that maybe it was best to just let this one go tonight. He would call her later in the weekend and try to see her again. He nodded and grabbed car keys off of the table and walked out the door, brushing his shoulder against Ted as he walked out and shut the door behind him.

Cody came out of the kitchen with a towel filled with ice, she winced as he pressed it to her cheek. "Are you ok, Jen?" he whispered. She nodded.

"What are you doing here, Cody."

"I had to see you. I remember you telling me where you lived, so I took a chance and drove over here. I knew you were here when I saw Randy's car outside. Jen, why did you go out with him tonight? Why do you keep seeing him?"

"I don't know. He called and asked me to go out for a drink tonight. I didn't have anything else to do, besides sit on the couch and feel sorry for myself, so I figured, why not?"

"Why were you sitting around feeling sorry for yourself," Ted asked softly as he pulled up a chair and sat down next to her.

"Because. Because I was depressed because the one man that I loved in my entire life, told me he couldn't love me anymore because of how I had hurt him," she whispered as she looked at Cody with tears running down her face.

"I'm sorry I said that, Jen. I didn't mean it."

"It sure felt like you did, Cody. How do you think it made me feel when you spent an entire week whispering that you had missed me, and that you loved me, and that you wanted me back. When the whole time you were lying and sleeping with Layla, even though you told me you weren't. How did you think that made me feel, Cody?" Jenna tried to keep her voice from raising. She didn't want to start a fight with Cody tonight.

"I'm sorry, Jen. I was scared when you finally came back. How do you think I felt when you left that night, never called for eight years, then all of the sudden you show up and want me back. I was scared shitless that you were going to take off on me again. I couldn't go through that again. I just couldn't. I know I wasn't the greatest husband when we were living in Atlanta. I know I didn't give you the support you needed when we lost the baby. But I loved you. I loved you so much, Jen. But then I come home from work one night, and you're gone. Nothing left but your wedding ring and a note saying that you didn't love me anymore. How do you think that made me feel? Wouldn't you be scared too?"

Ted saw this as an opportunity for him to exit quietly and let the couple try to rebuild what they had both lost over the past few months.

"I'm sorry, Cody. I didn't want to do it that way, but I had to. It's the only way you were going to take that chance-"

"I know what you did was for my own good, but damn it, Jenna, I wanted to do it with you. I wanted you by my side when I started."

Jenna looked down at the floor. She knew that her leaving the way she did wasn't going to go over well with him, but it felt like her only option. "I'm sorry. That's all I can really say, Cody."

"So where do we go from here. We've both apologized, everything is out on the table. Do you really want me to sign those divorce papers."

"You've been refusing. What's making you change your mind all of the sudden?" she whispered, suddenly terrified that he would actually sign them and he would be gone from her life forever.

"I don't know. I can't handle this fighting, this bickering. I can't stand the thought of my wife in Randy's arms. You know he's lying to you, right? Whatever sweet words he's been whispering in your ear, was a lie. He only wants one thing from you, Jen. He just wants you in his bed. He doesn't actually care about you, he never did."

'How do know that?"

"Trust me. I know Randy a lot better than you do. He only wants what he can't have. So, what do you want me to do. Do you want me to sign them and we say goodbye right here?" He picked up something he had dropped by the door when he came in. It was the papers. He brought it over to the table, that Ted had managed to fix temporarily, and took them out of the envelope. He reached over and grabbed a pen off the floor. "Do you want me to sign them? We can't go back once we do this, honey. Is this what you really want?" He asked, his blue eyes full of fear. He didn't want to sign them. He knew he had messed up, and he was truly sorry for everything.

"I don't know..." she trailed off, not tearing her eyes away from his. "I don't know if I want it to be done forever. We've been through so much together, Cody. I'd hate to see it end. Even though you hurt me when you said you couldn't love me anymore, I still love you. I never stopped loving you, Cody. I didn't want to leave. You have to know that, right, somewhere deep down inside, you know I didn't want to leave and hurt you." She reached her hand out and covered Cody's with her own.

"I know, baby, I know." Cody couldn't believe he was doing this. He took the pen and scrawled his name on the papers. Jenna watched in horror as the only man she had ever loved just signed the divorce papers. She couldn't find any words right now, she felt a pain in her chest; her breathing picked up, her heart was breaking. He finished signing the papers and set the pen down.

"There. It's done, Jenna. It's up to you to file them now." He stood up, kissed her on the cheek and started to walk towards the door, leaving Jenna to stare after him. He had just signed the papers and now he was walking out of her life. Forever.


	29. Chapter 29

**Chapter 29**

Jenna slumped to the floor after the door shut behind Cody. He was gone. He had did what she had wanted him to do from the beginning—sign the divorce papers so she could move on with her life. She couldn't figure out why, if this is what she had wanted all along, why did she feel so empty right now. She knew the answer. She was still in love with him. She had never stopped loving him. The tears that she had been holding back were now streaming down her face quickly. She wiped them away, but they just kept coming.

She picked herself up off the floor and picked up the papers, hoping that he really hadn't signed them, that this was all a bad dream. She let out a loud sob as she saw his signature on the paper. It wasn't a bad dream, it was real. He had just finalized their divorce; all that was left to do was bring the papers to the courthouse. The bottle of Jack Daniels was still sitting on the floor by the couch. She walked over, picked up the bottle and took a big drink; the warm liquid burned down her throat as she coughed. The tears were still streaming down her face; she couldn't believe that it was over. It was really over. Cody had been right. She really was a spoiled princess who always got her own way. Wiping the tears from her cheeks, she took another drink and set the bottle down. What does a princess do at a time like this?

Jenna walked into the kitchen and grabbed the phone from the wall. She glanced at the clock, seeing that it was close to one in the morning. She hesitated for a minute before she dialed a number she knew by heart. The phone rang several times and she was just about to hang up before the person on the other end finally answered.

"Hello," came a sleepy voice with a southern drawl.

Jenna fought back a sob, "He did it. He finally signed them."

"Jenna Kay?"

"He's gone. He's not coming back," she let out a loud sob and stared openly crying.

"Jenna Kay...What happened?"

"Mama, he finally signed the papers. I lost him. I lost Cody."

Alice sat up in bed, her heart was breaking listening to her only child cry her eyes out. For the millionth time, she wished her daughter was in Marietta and not hundreds of miles away. There weren't any words that could fix this right now; only a mother's embrace could try and take the pain away. "Oh, sweetie. I'm so sorry. But isn't this what you wanted? Didn't you want him to sign them?"

"I thought I did. But, then when I started spending time with him again, I realized what a big mistake I had made when I left him...He doesn't love me anymore, mama," she cried softly. Alice heard her daughter's southern drawl creep back into her voice when she called her mama. It had been so long since she had heard that soft and sweet voice. It tore her and Jim up inside when Jenna took off with Cody and didn't call for four years. It hurt even worse when she didn't come home for eight years. She was their princess; their one and only child. It pained Alice to hear her baby girl sobbing like this.

"Shh...shh, Jenna, you're gonna be ok; don't cry darlin'."

"Mama, I'm not going to be ok. I made such a mess of everything. It's not fair! I hurt you and daddy when I ran off with Cody, we lost our baby, then we had to live in that shitty apartment, and I could tell that Cody wasn't happy with me, I knew that I was holding him back. So I did the best thing for him, I left so he could be happy. That's all I had ever wanted to do, mama, was to make him happy. Even if it meant that I was going to be miserable. I've been in love with him since we were in junior high, I would have done anything for him," Jenna's words were coming out in a rush, interrupted every so often by hiccups, trying to hold back her sobs. Her mother decided to just let her daughter get it all out. "And then, then, I tried to move on with my life, I finished college like I had always wanted to do, and I met someone else who I thought was going to make me happy. But Andrew couldn't make me happy. He tried so hard to make me happy, but I couldn't. I couldn't be happy, mama."

"Why couldn't you be happy with Andrew, sweetie," her mother asked softly, trying to coax the words and feelings out of Jenna.

"Because, because, because he wasn't Cody. Mama, I loved him, I loved Cody so much. But now he's gone and he's not coming back." Jenna was almost hysterical at this point.

"Honey, you need to calm down, take a deep breath."

Jenna walked back into the living room and grabbed the bottle of whiskey, holding the phone away from her, she took a big drink. She set the bottle back down and took a deep breathe. "Mom, what am I going to do?"

"I don't know, Jenna. I don't understand; I thought you had wanted to him to sign the papers. Weren't you the one who initiated the paperwork?"

"I did, but I only did that because I thought Andrew was going to make me happy. Mom, he was nothing like Cody. He couldn't make me laugh the way Cody did; he didn't make my heart beat faster when he was close to me. He wasn't Cody," she started sobbing again as she slid to the floor, realizing what a huge mistake she had made by acting the way she had all those years ago. "Then, then, I let Cody convinced me to give him another chance. I let my guard down and tried to forget about all of the hurtful things we did and said to each other, and I let him back in, mama. But he lied to me, he lied to me and said he couldn't love someone who could hurt him the way I did. Mama, I messed up so bad. All I had ever wanted to do was to love him, and I messed it up!"

"Shh. Shhh...shhh.. Jenna, it's late and you're upset. Why don't you go on to bed and we'll talk more about this tomorrow morning. Sleep on it-"

"You told me to do what feels right, mom. And that's what I did. I let myself love Cody again, and I got hurt!"

"Sweetheart, you should know by now that life isn't fair. There are going to be times when everything goes right and there are going to be times when everything goes wrong. I can't tell you what to do, all I can do is tell you to do what feels right. If you love this boy as much as you think you do, you'll fight for him. You'll call him up tomorrow and tell him that you made a mistake, and that you're sorry and that you want another chance. I know you did what you thought was right for him when you left, but maybe it wasn't what was right. Maybe he needed you by his side instead of going at it all alone."

Those words sounded familiar, Jenna thought to herself. Cody had said them earlier tonight; he had wanted her by his side through his journey to his dream. "What if he won't take me back, mom? Then what do I do?"

Her mother didn't say anything for a few seconds. "Then this is going to be a good lesson in how to deal with life when everything goes wrong. Jenna Kay, your father and I tried to protect you from getting hurt; we thought that by giving you everything that you wanted, that you wouldn't ever have to feel pain like you are feeling right now. We were wrong to do that; one of the most important life experiences that a person can have is to know what hurt feels like and learn how to cope with it. Rebounding from this is going to make you a stronger person, Jen. You just have to hang in there."

Jenna sniffed, wiped the remaining tears from her face, "Thank you, mom. I love you," she said softly.

Alice felt a lump rise up in her throat; it had been so many years since she had heard her daughter say that she loved her. "I love you too, Jenna Kay. Why don't you go on to bed and get some sleep? I'll call you in the morning."

"Good night, mom."

"Good night, darling."

Jenna hung up and set the phone down on the floor. She looked around her living room. The coffee table was broken, there was chair turned over, and her kitchen table had seen better days. She finally became aware of her cheek throbbing. She held back a sob, thinking about why it was hurting. It was close to two in the morning and she didn't have enough strength to make it to her bedroom. She crawled over to the couch and pulled a blanket over her, laid down and closed her eyes. Praying for sleep to come soon.

_The next morning_

Jenna once again woke up with a pounding headache. It hurt to open her eyes and her cheek throbbed. For a few minutes she was convinced that everything that had happened last night—from Randy taking her out for a drink, Cody showing up, Randy and Cody fighting, Cody signing the divorce papers finally, and her calling her mom after midnight, sobbing her eyes out—had all been a bad dream. She threw the blanket off of her and stumbled over to the kitchen table. Closing her eyes as she picked up the divorce papers, she gave one last wish that she had imagined it all. Opening her eyes, they immediately filled with tears. It wasn't a bad dream. He had really signed them. Slumping down into a chair, she laid her head on the table and sobbed. She sobbed for all of the good memories she had made with Cody, all of the fights they had had in that small apartment. She sobbed for the loss of their baby, for making that fateful decision and leaving him like she did. She sobbed for how she had hurt him. She sobbed for how she had believed him when he softly whispered that he still loved her, when all along he was just lying to her to keep himself from getting hurt.

In the past three months, her life had gone from perfect to an absolute mess. She had lost her first and only love. All that was left to do was to go to the courthouse Monday morning and turn the papers in. Cody would move on with his life, living his dream; and Jenna would muddle through hers, and hope that she could find happiness again someday. Her cell phone started ringing, jolting her out of the pity party she had started for herself. A glance at the caller id and she picked up without hesitation.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Jenna. It's Ted. How are you," he asked with his voice full of concern. Ted felt horrible about what happened last night. On the way back to the hotel Cody had told him what he had finally done.

"Not so good...I guess you heard what happened."

"Yeah, I heard. I'm really sorry, I thought for sure that you two were going to work it all out."

"So did I. I never meant to hurt Cody."

"I know you didn't."

Silence. "How is he?" she asked timidly.

"He would want me to lie to you and tell you everything is fine with him, but I know he's hurting. He really did love you, Jenna. It just got to be too much I guess."

"I don't understand."

"From what I gather, it was the left over hurt from when you left him in Atlanta, along with the shock of you filing for divorce after eight years without an explanation why."

"I understand that I hurt him. But it doesn't explain why he spent a week trying to convince me to get back together with him and then he ends up signing the papers anyways."

"I think whatever it was that you were doing with Randy also got to him. Jenna, Randy was one of his best friends, and he knows how Randy is when it comes to women, but he took it too far by sleeping with you. Cody lost it after he found about you and Randy."

"It was a mistake, Ted."

"I know it was. And I know you realize that it was a mistake too, but it still hurts Cody to know that his best friend and his wife let it happen."

"Everything is such a mess, Teddy. What do I do? Do I just file the papers on Monday?"

Ted was silent for a few minutes; as much as it pained him to tell her, he had to. "I think that's best. I'm sorry it couldn't work out for you two. I'm really sorry, Jenna," Ted said softly.

Jenna swallowed a sob that was trying to escape, "Thanks, Teddy. I gotta let you go. Take care, all right?" she managed to get out before she hung up and started bawling again.

After she hung up with Ted, she wandered over to the sofa, grabbing her laptop along the way. In the months and years after she left Atlanta, she found that writing was the best escape when her life was crumbling down around her. She took a deep breath and decided to let it all out, let everything that she had been holding back for the past few months out. She started typing.

_As my life crumbles down around me, I am reminded of a quote I once read in my high school English class: "Never be sad for what is over, just be glad that it was once yours."_


	30. Chapter 30

A/N: It gets kind of random at this point; but hang in there, I'm going somewhere with this, promise!

Chapter 30

Cody was hurting too. He hadn't wanted to sign the papers. He had hoped that he and Jenna would have been able to work things out. But he had made a promise to her that if things didn't work out, he would sign them and let her move on with her life. She had wandered back into his life after being gone for so long, and in the short time they had had together, she had managed to turn his whole life upside down.

After he left Jenna's house that night, he was quiet all the way back to the hotel until Ted finally asked him what happened, why had he left so quickly. Cody took a deep breath and told Ted everything; about how he had made it final and was going to let Jenna get on with her life without him. Ted knew him well enough to know that it wasn't what Cody had really wanted to do. But when you spend eight years feeling hurt and scared, you act on instinct when someone tries to hurt you again. Cody had forgiven Jenna for leaving him the way she did. But what had happened with Randy was going to take some time to get over, and Cody honestly wasn't sure if he was going to be able to get over that any time soon. Randy had been one of his best friends, his mentor. He wasn't sure who he was more upset with—Randy for betraying his trust and sleeping with his wife or Jenna for sleeping with Randy just to spite him. Everything was a mess right now and for once in his life, Cody had no idea how he was going to fix it. He would just let time take care of it for now.

A few weeks went by and Jenna still hadn't brought the papers to the courthouse to be filed. She had set them in her dresser drawer and secretly hoped that they would disappear and that eventually she would wake up and this would all be a bad dream. She would wake up and she would still be living her perfect life in Minneapolis, completely oblivious to the fact that she had an estranged husband; she would be at the top of her game at work, traveling to chase story leads, spending the weekends out with her friends in downtown, living the single girl's dream life. Instead, Jenna was a depressed mess. She dragged herself out of bed each morning to go to work. Her work was suffering and she avoided being sent out on assignment. She came home straight from work every night and sat on the sofa, staring into space for a few hours before it was time for bed. Then the cycle repeated itself. She knew what she was doing to herself was very unhealthy and that she should confide in someone about how she was feeling or she should just somehow magically snap out of it. Neither option held much desire for her.

Jenna also found herself doing something that she had never done before; she was paying attention to Cody's career. She watched both televised shows every week and read about him online. His career was flourishing and it looked like he was having the time of his life. Even though she grieved right now for what had transpired between them, she still wished him all the best of luck in his dream. This is what he had always wanted to do; and she had no right to stand in his way. She had wished a million times that she had done things differently, but sadly, it is what it is. She knew that she should be an adult and call him. But she wasn't ready yet. She might never be ready. She also knew that he was expecting her to file the divorce papers now that she had his signature; she wasn't ready to do that either.

_Six Months Later_

Jenna still hadn't filed the divorce papers; they were still sitting in her dresser drawer gathering dust. She knew she should file them; but she still had hopes that things would change and that she would somehow find the courage to let Cody know that she still loved him and didn't want a divorce. She had managed to somewhat snap out of the funk that she had been in for the past few months, but she still found herself crying over the events that happened between her and Cody every so often. Mostly at night, when she reached out for him in the middle of the night and there was no one there. It reminded her of the first year of her life after she left him. Lonely.

Cody threw himself into his work; his matches and promos were perfect. He became obsessed with work in order to try and forget about the mess him and Jenna had made of their marriage. He was home for a few days when his dad and brother stopped over for a visit. The men were sitting in the backyard, not saying much. Virgil and Dustin hadn't heard the complete story of why Cody and Jenna broke up; they just heard bits and pieces of information that Cody was willing to share. Dustin saw that his brother had changed over the last couple of months; he was more aggressive and seemed to have too much focus on his career.

"Hey, Cody?" Dustin said tentatively. "So, it's been a long time since we've seen Jenna around and neither of you are talking about it. What gives?" he ended up saying bluntly.

"Princess got what she wanted again. She wanted a divorce, so I gave her one," Cody said quietly.

Virgil knew his son was hurting, but wasn't sure how he should handle this situation. His boy was grown and could make his own decisions. "Son, I know lots of things have happened between you and Jenna over the years, but were you both sure that things couldn't work out-"

"They couldn't, dad. Trust me, I tried. I tried to give her a second chance, I forgave her for leaving, I said I was sorry until I was blue in the face about how things turned out for us in Atlanta. And I thought we were really getting back together for good until I made a mistake with Layla, which I apologized for by the way, and how does she get back at me? She sleeps with my best friend!" Cody said with his blue eyes flashing with anger.

The men were quiet for a few minutes. "I ran into Jim Andrews the other day."

Cody's breath caught, hearing his father in law's name. "Oh," was all Cody could say.

"I asked him how Jenna was doing."

Cody was silent, more than anything he wanted to know how she was doing. It had been at least six months since he had heard from her.

"In case you were wondering, she's doing fine, trying to get along."

"Oh." She's moved on, Cody thought sadly.

"He was excited that she was actually come home to Marietta next week for him and Alice's 25th wedding anniversary party. Sounds like she hadn't been home in a long time. Well, except when she stopped by when she was in Atlanta with you..." Virgil trailed off, looking at his son for a reaction.

"Huh."

"That's all you got to say son, is huh? I would have expected a little bit more than just huh."

"What do you want me to say? Sounds like she moved on, I haven't heard from her in months. Just like before; she disappeared on me." Cody was silent for a minute, lost in his own thoughts, when something suddenly dawned on him. He had never received any paperwork from the courts saying that the divorce had been finalized. He had been so wrapped up in work, with the shows and traveling, that he never even noticed that nothing had come in the mail. "Dad?"

"Yeah?"

"When a divorce is finalized, the courts are going to send papers saying so, right?"

"Yeah. Why are you asking, son?" Virgil was curious as to where his son was going with this conversation.

"I don't know. I guess, I haven't gotten anything in the mail saying that anything was finalized yet."

Virgil was quiet for a minute, mulling this over. "Well, I haven't gotten anything at the house for you. Are you sure nothing came in the mail? The post office isn't holding anything?"

"I'm sure. Oh, my God. Do you know what this means? It means that she never filed the papers." Cody jumped up from his chair, suddenly feeling too restless to sit still.

"Cody, calm down," Dustin spoke up, as he watched his little brother pace back and forth in the backyard. "Maybe there's a reason she didn't file them yet. Maybe she's been traveling with work-"

"That can't be why," Cody interrupted him. "That can't be why. There has to be another reason. Do you think...Shit. What if she doesn't really want a divorce after all," Cody trailed off softly, sinking back into his chair. "What is she wants to give us another chance?"

"Cody, I don't want you to get your hopes up, but I'm sure there's another explanation as to why she hasn't filed them," Virgil said softly, trying to spare his son's feelings.

"What else could it be, dad? It has to be because she changed her mind and doesn't want a divorce..."

Virgil didn't want to tell his son about the rest of his conversation with Jim Andrews the other day. Jim was very adamant that he was glad that Cody had finally signed the divorce papers. He was still bitter and upset that Cody and Jenna had eloped without telling anyone. Jim and Alice were heartbroken when Jenna took off with Cody. Everyone in town talked about nothing else months after the two teenagers got married in the middle of the night. Virgil couldn't blame them for being angry; he had been terribly upset with Cody for his impulsive behavior as well. But, Virgil also remembered how happy his son had looked when Jenna had come to stay with him for a few days. If only Jim and Alice could have seen how happy the two of them looked after being reunited after so long.

A few days later in Minnesota, Jenna was packing her suitcase and getting ready to fly to Georgia for her parents anniversary party. She had been speaking to her mom and dad at least once a week since Cody had left her. She had them convinced that she was getting along just fine without Cody; she didn't tell them, or anyone for that matter, that the divorce papers Cody had signed were still in her dresser drawer. She thought about taking them to the courthouse every day, but something stopped her before she opened the drawer. Things were going a little bit better for Jenna; she still spent a lot of time by herself thinking about her and Cody. She knew that she should do the right thing and just move on with her life, but she can't help but wonder 'what if'.


	31. Chapter 31

**Chapter 31**

Jenna's flight landed in Atlanta early Friday afternoon. She was headed to Marietta to attend her parents anniversary party and then planned on visiting for a week. Jenna had grown close to her parents again after being away for so long; she apologized numerous times for running off when she was 18 and not coming around for several years. They accepted her apology and agreed to move forward. She was looking forward to celebrating Jim and Alice's wedding anniversary with them this weekend and then staying in town for about a week.

It had been over six months and Jenna still hadn't talked to Cody or filed the divorce papers. She picked up the phone several times and had almost dialed his number, but lost her nerve, afraid that he would actually answer and she would have no idea what to say to him. She knew she had messed up really bad when she slept with Randy. She could only the use the 'I was drunk' excuse once. The second time she agreed to see him, she was sober. She couldn't figure out what it was about Randy that kept her agreeing to see him. She didn't even like him that much. He must have finally taken the hint after the last time he was in Minneapolis and Cody had shown up and started a fist fight, because he hasn't called her since then. Good riddance, she thought to herself; Randy did nothing but cause problems between her and Cody.

She was waiting in line at the car rental desk, when something caught her eye. She couldn't believe it; Cody was walking through the terminal, his suitcase trailing behind him. He must have just flown in from the road and was headed home for some time off. Their eyes locked for a brief second; he stopped walking and took her all in; it had been so long. Her light brown hair was pulled up into a ponytail, she had on a hooded sweatshirt and a simple pair of blue jeans and sneakers. Even though she was dressed so casually, Cody still felt his heart skip a beat. Jenna was next in line for the car rental, as she filled out the paperwork, she saw Cody staring at her out of the corner of her eye.

He waited until she was done signing the rental agreement before he approached her. He had no idea what to say, biting down on his lip, he managed to squeak something out. "You're gonna be hot wearing that sweatshirt, Jen. It's gonna be eighty degrees today," he said softly with a smile on her face. He was smiling because she had turned bright red when his hand reached out and tugged on the sleeve of her sweatshirt.

"Well, it was a steamy twenty five degrees when I flew out this morning. Who knew that Minnesota could be cold in November," she said softly, meeting his smile.

An uncomfortable silence passed between them as people rushed past the estranged couple. "It's been a while, Jen. How have you been?"

"All right. I'm getting by. How have you been?"

"Getting by."

There was an awkward silence between them; both of them were silently begging the other one to say something, anything. She nodded, glancing at her watch. "I should get going, my mom is expecting me soon. It was nice to see you, Cody," she said sadly.

Cody forgot how to speak so he just nodded. Jenna grabbed her suitcase and started walking away. "Jenna?" Cody called after her.

She slowly turned around, "Yeah?"

"Um. How long are you in town?" he asked nervously.

"For about a week I think."

"Can I see you while you're in town?"

Jenna bit down on her bottom lip; she wasn't sure if she should see him. She still hadn't filed the divorce agreement and he was going to want to know why. "My parents' anniversary party is tomorrow night..."

"I heard. So are you going to busy with that..." he trailed off, feeling like he was going to get shot down at any second.

"I have to be there tomorrow night. But tonight, I don't think I have anything planned," she said softly.

"Can we get together? I think we have some things that we need to talk about."

"Yes, we do. Call me later?" she asked.

He nodded as she gave him a feeble smile and walked away to her rental car, her heart beating a million times a minute.

Jenna drove to her parents home in Marietta, thinking about what on earth she was going to say to Cody tonight. She didn't know how he was going to react about the papers not being filed. He said it was all on her now to make the decision; but she was struggling with having to make this decision on her own.

Later that night, around 10:00, Jenna was putting the final touches on her hair and make-up. Cody had called a few hours ago and suggested that they get together in Atlanta at a sports bar to talk. Jenna had told her mom and dad that she was going to meet Cody tonight and felt bad when she saw the disappointed look on their faces.

"Jenna Kay...why are you going to see Cody tonight? If you two are divorced, there really isn't any reason for you two to be talking anymore. You should just write this off as a life experience and move on," her mom said gently, trying to spare her daughter's feelings.

"Um. Here's the thing, mom. We're still legally married," Jenna trailed off while looking down at the floor.

"You are still what?" her father spoke up.

"Still married."

"You said Cody signed the papers," her father said tensely.

"Well, yeah, he did sign them, but I never filed them."

"And why the hell not? Jenna Kay, you called up here at one in the morning the night he signed them, bawling your eyes about about it."

"I don't know, dad. I just...I don't know. I can't bring myself to file them, because I'm going to admit that it's over. And I don't know if I'm ready for it to be over yet," Jenna said softly and she started moving towards the front door.

"I just hope you know what you're doing, Jenna. This isn't just your life that you're playing with now; you're playing with Cody's life too," her mom said softly as her and Jim watched their only daughter walk out the front door to meet her estranged husband in Atlanta.

Cody glanced at his watch for the tenth time in five minutes. Jenna was late. He was beginning to question if she had changed her mind when she finally came strolling through the door fifteen minutes late. "Hey," she said as she sat down across the table from him.

"Hey. I wasn't sure if you were going to actually show up; I thought maybe you changed your mind."

"No, I was just running late. I sort of got into a...discussion with my parents before I left about meeting you."

"Oh. Anything bad?" Cody asked, remembering how she used to argue back and forth with them about him. Jim and Alice had thought that the two teenagers were getting too serious too quickly with each other. If they only knew, Cody thought to himself.

"Well, they asked why I was meeting you tonight and what we could possibly have to talk about. They seem to think that we're divorced and that since they think that, there is not reason for us to speak to each other anymore," Jenna said softly, her eyes refusing to meet his.

"Wait. What do you mean, they 'seem' to think we're divorced? We are divorced aren't we? You did file those papers, Jenna. Didn't you?" Cody asked anxiously. "I signed those over six months ago and assumed you would file them the first chance you got."

"I didn't," she whispered. "I still have them. I...I...I can't do it, Cody, I just can't," she whispered as tears were starting to form in her eyes. "I think I still love you..."

Cody was silent for a few minutes. He was shocked that she still hadn't filed them after she had been so adamant about securing his signature. "Jen..." he trailed off as he felt her hand cover his.

"Cody, I changed my mind, I don't want a divorce, I want you back."


	32. Chapter 32

**Chapter 32**

Cody was stunned. He never thought he would hear those words come out of Jenna's mouth. "I'm sorry, Jen, can you repeat that? Did you just say that you changed your mind and that you want me back?" he asked softly, still not believing that she had just said that.

Jenna nodded. "Cody, I am so sorry for everything that happened. I'm sorry for leaving you in the first place, I'm sorry for taking off and not calling for so many years, I'm sorry for asking for a divorce in the first place and for acting like such a bitch towards you, I'm sorry for everything that happened with Randy..." she trailed off, noticing the anger starting to show in his face when she mentioned Randy's name.

"I know you're sorry, Jenna, and I forgive you for everything. But the shit that happened with Randy...I just don't know about that. He was one of my best friends and you slept with him. I don't know how we're going to move past that."

"All I can say is that I'm sorry and hope that you can look past this and give us another chance, Cody," she whispered, covering his hand with hers.

"How do I know you're not going to take off on me again in the middle of the night? I missed you so much when you left and I had no idea what I did wrong to make you leave me like you did. I thought you just decided that you didn't love me anymore. Do you have any idea how long I carried that hurt around, Jen?"

"I didn't want to Cody, we've been over this. And I can apologize until I'm blue in the face, but we can't change the past. We just have to try and move forward. I am really, really sorry for everything. But if you don't think you can get past this, then I guess I'll file the papers when I get home and then we'll be done; but I thought we could at least talk about giving it another chance. I love you." She was holding tears back at this point, willing them to not escape her eyes and roll down her cheeks. If he decided that he couldn't love her anymore, she didn't want him to see her cry anymore.

For the first time in a long time, Cody saw her. He saw the beautiful girl he had fallen in love with in high school. She had haunted his dreams every night that she was away from him. He would be a fool to not take her back."Let's go home, Jenna," Cody said softly. She nodded and stood up, taking his hand in hers as they walked out together. They left her car there are drove back to his house across town, silently reflecting on what had just happened. What did just happen, Jenna wondered to herself. She couldn't believe Cody was being so agreeable right now. She shrugged that nagging feeling off as she noticed that Cody had placed his right hand on her thigh. She smiled, thinking that maybe everything was going to turn out for them.

They made it back to his house, Jenna followed Cody up the steps. He unlocked the door and ushered her inside. She stood awkwardly in his living room, not sure what to do right now. He shut the door behind her and stood behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist. He started nuzzling her neck, "I love you, Jen."

"I love you too, Cody. I'm sorry that it took me so long to realize it again. I don't want to be away from you anymore," she whispered as his arms gripped her waist tighter and he placed gently kisses on her neck.

_Maybe I didn't treat you Quite as good as I should have Maybe I didn't love you Quite as often as I could have Little things I should have said and done I just never took the time_

You were always on my mind You were always on my mind

Jenna broke away from Cody and walked over to the couch, setting her purse down and taking something out. Cody's eyes widened as he realized that it was the divorce papers. She handed them to over to him. As he held them in his hands, their life together flashed by in his mind. From teasing her in junior high, from going to their first homecoming dance together, the junior prom, dancing in the high school gym, moving in slow circles. From Friday night dates at the local movie theater, sitting in the back row, kissing instead of watching the movie. From parking on a gravel road on a dark night and getting tangled up in each others arms. From their senior prom, finding out they were expecting a baby, getting married in the middle of the night. From moving to Atlanta and living their love story together. From losing their baby, to the nasty arguments, from the hurtful words, From her leaving him to him wondering what he had done so wrong, to finally hearing from her after so long. From him refusing to sign the divorce papers, to her being on the road with him, to sleeping next to each other after so long. From the fights and arguments that started because of Randy and because of the unspoken hurt between them. This was them, he thought as he looked down at the divorce papers.

_Tell me, tell me that your sweet love hasn't died Give me, give me one more chance To keep you satisfied, satisfied_

Maybe I didn't hold you All those lonely, lonely times And I guess I never told you I'm so happy that you're mine If I make you feel second best Girl, I'm sorry I was blind

You were always on my mind You were always on my mind 

She was sorry, she didn't want to hurt him; that's what he had been waiting to hear, that she still loved him and wanted to give them another chance. He took the papers out of the envelope, as she watched him, her brown eyes wide with anxiety, hoping he did the right thing. Her heart started beating again when he ripped the papers in half and dropped them to the ground. He pulled her close to him and kissed her gently on the mouth, reclaiming her as his wife.

_Tell me, tell me that your sweet love hasn't died Give me, give me one more chance To keep you satisfied, satisfied  
_

_Little things I should have said and done I just never took the time You were always on my mind You are always on my mind You are always on my mind_

Cody let go of her and took something out of his pocket. He reached for her left hand and slipped it on her ring finger. It was her wedding band. "Why do you keep this in your pocket?" she whispered as she looked down at her hand.

"I did what felt right." Jenna smiled as she remembered her mom telling her to do just that when it came to Cody.

"It does feel right, doesn't it?"

"Yeah, baby it does. Let's go to bed..." he trailed off, taking her by the hand and leading her upstairs.

_**Time is too slow for those who wait, too swift for those who fear, too long for those who grieve, too short for those who rejoice, but for those who love, time is eternity. ~Henry Van Dyke**_

**Epilogue**

Jenna moved back to Atlanta three weeks after Cody ripped up the divorce papers that night. It had been a wild ride so far, and she was looking forward to the journey ahead for the couple. Jim and Alice learned of their reunion at their anniversary party the next night. Jim was surprised; Alice held back a smile as she watched her only daughter hold onto Cody's hand while they enjoyed the party. She knew her daughter would eventually do the right thing—let herself love him again.

Cody continued traveling with the WWE while Jenna started doing some freelance writing for a magazine in Atlanta, watching Cody live his dream. This time she made sure to be there with him every step of the way. As both of their careers flourished, one thing still felt like it was missing. After trying for several months, they learned of a blessing coming their way. For the first time, Jenna was able to let go of the feelings of regret and sorrow she had been holding onto and let herself love this little person growing inside of her. If Cody was in love before, he was absolutely smitten with Jenna now, watching her glow with their unborn child growing inside of her. They named their blessing Amanda Sue; she was a perfect little baby girl with dark hair like her father and dark brown eyes like her mother.

Through trials and tribulations, true love prevailed. Sometimes you just need to do what feels right.

The end

A/N: That's it. That's the end. Thanks so much for reading and reviewing. I hope the ending is good for everyone. I knew eventually that they would get back together, it was just how to wrap it all up.


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